Why MS Dhoni is not good news for Indian cricket anymore

From being one of the best in the business, Mahendra Singh Dhoni has gone on to become a defensive, shortsighted skipper.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni did not want to miss out on an opportunity to play for India amidst a season that is packed with Test matches. In Zimbabwe, leading a second-string team, Dhoni has made the most out of the chance by helping the team complete a whitewash against the hosts, thereby ending his 20-month wait for an ODI series win.The win, despite coming against the minnows should have given him the much-needed respite. Over the two years, there has been a severe drought in his famous trophy cabinet. The 34-year-old, being at the helm of the ODI team after retiring from Test cricket, has been a shadow of his glorious past. (Dhoni becomes first Indian wicketkeeper to complete 350 ODI dismissals)

After a 2-1 victory against West Indies at home in 2014, India, under Dhoni, have been thrashed and battered in the 50-over format of the game. Just before the 2015 World Cup, India went winless in the tri-series involving England and Australia. At the showdown event in Australia, India were knocked out in the semi-finals after losing to the hosts.The Men in Blue hit rock bottom when they were humiliated in Bangladesh after young pacer Mustafizur Rahman left the full-strength unit jaded. Dhoni's problems aggravated when South Africa sealed a series win in India.

At a time, when Virat Kohli led the Test unit to back-to-back series wins against Sri Lanka and South Africa, Dhoni looked worn out and clueless with his ODI team, that was facing an array of defeats.

Neither did 2016 begin well for the skipper as India lost to Australia 1-4 despite Kohli and Rohit Sharma scoring heaps of runs.From being one of the best in the business, Dhoni has gone on to become a lacklustre figure in the side. Here are few reasons why Dhoni is no more a good news for Indian cricket. (Dhoni flexes his muscles after crushing Zimbabwe).

WHERE IS INDIA'S PROACTIVE CAPTAIN?

Once upon a time, Dhoni was celebrated for his bold moves. He surprised quite a few by entrusting a rookie pacer with the responsibility of bowling the last over of a World T20 final, a daring tactic that turned out to be a masterstroke.However, in the recent past, Dhoni has borne the brunt for being reluctant to make changes. His persistence with under-performing players in the squad has hurt the team. Take the case of Shikhar Dhawan. The left-handed opener was given a long rope in the 2015-16 T20 season, despite seven single-digit scores in 16 games. However, he was dropped in the all-important World T20 semi-final clash against West Indies.

In the Zimbabwe ODIs, Dhoni was reluctant to test the bench strength in the last game even after taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. Youngsters Jayant Yadav and Jaydev Unadkat warmed the benches throughout the series after Dhoni refrained from making wholesale changes.

HANDLING THE FAST BOWLERS

More often than not, Dhoni, after defeats, has been taking cover in his bowlers' poor performances. He has been reluctant to go for pace and has often sidelined Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron. His persistence with military medium pacers of the likes Mohit Sharma and Sreenath Aravind has been heavily criticised. (Dhoni happy to focus on daughter after hectic season).In Indian Premier League 2016, Dhoni snubbed Irfan Pathan for most part of the tournament and went ahead with Rajat Bhatia. Dhoni was forced to make a change after an array of losses but it was already late for Pune Supergiants, who finished seventh in their debut season.

On the other hand, Kohli has believed in his pacers a lot more which has worked wonders for the team. Umesh, Ishant Sharma brought out their best against Sri Lanka and South Africa and orchestrated India's winning campaigns.Also, continuing to set fields for bad deliveries has shed light on the defensive mindset that has smitten Dhoni.

HIS REPORTED DIFFERENCES WITH ASHWIN

Dhoni seems to have turned his back on his go-to-man Ravichandran Ashwin. The Tamil Nadu off-spinner completed his quota of four overs only four times in nine matches across Asia Cup T20 and World T20 tournaments.At RPS, Dhoni made it evident and deprived Ashwin of enough opportunities to stage fightbacks. Dhoni, who found a lot of success after throwing the new ball to Ashwin at Chennai Super Kings, rarely opened with the offie in season nine. Dhoni's under-utilisation of the off-spinner fuelled speculations that differences have cropped up between the two players.

source: http://indiatoday.intoday.in