Sunday, December 08, 2013
Why I do not get high on MSD
I was reading the article that came today in ET. A wonderful piece by Boria Majumdar on MSD. It read "Mahendra Singh Dhoni yet to pass litmus test of Indian captaincy". Now that is a catchy news headline. I started reading it, and these paragraphs struck me as most of my own thoughts. It mixed statistics and viewpoints, and it dragged in old memories to the statistics.
However, in the Test match format, he still has a lot to prove. Just a year-and-a-half earlier, we lost 8 consecutive Test matches away from home, a record that just doesn't go with the man tipped to be the best ever. We also lost a home series against England, which, more than anything else, was acutely disappointing. And Dhoni as a batsman can seriously do much better than what he has done in Test in overseas conditions. It is as if he doesn't like the format and finds it a little too daunting on occasions. It is in this regard that his legacy has to improve significantly.
And it is this poor overseas record that prompts me to bring Sourav Ganguly back into the debate on India's best captain. This debate is regarding Test match cricket and nothing else. Under Sourav, more than anyone else, we learnt to win overseas. Since taking over in 2000, he won us a crucial Test match at Headingley in 2002. India went on to draw that particular series 1-1 against the English.
We followed this up with a runner-up finish in the 2003 world cup winning 8 consecutive matches on South African soil. And then came the absolutely incredible test win at Adelaide. This win meant we drew the 2003-4 series down under 1-1. The honeymoon was complete when India beat Pakistan in Pakistan 2-1 in March-April 2004.
And in the series down under in 2003-4, it was his century in the first Test at the Gabba that set the tone for the contest. It is in key away series that I'd love to see MSD come good. We are playing 14 Test matches overseas between December 2013 and January 2015. Each of these Test matches will need MSD to be at his inspiring best. It is upon MSD to encourage his young brigade and lead from the front. We need a Ganguly like 144 to set the tone and unless that happens, his legacy as the best ever can never be doubtless.
With the advent of T20, it was almost clear that I can be soon boxed up as a relic of the past. I do not say I was a regular player who always played in long form of the game in whatever level I played. No. Far from that, I usually played game with overs of 10, 12, 15, 16 or 20. Now why are these numbers so relevant? We used to play with spells of 2, 3 or max 4 (main) bowlers. Our games were most similar to T20 in all of the big strategy that they hype in the papers. Then why would I consider myself so distant from the shortest version of game?
My school days were mixed versions of listening to elders speaking about the glories of football and watching the excitement of ODI in DD. So far as to regularly play either of these games, I played lagori (7 stones), uppum pakshi (salt and bird??), kallanum police-um (Theif & Police!!) and the usual games of Goli, carroms, ludo &c. The first time I played football, I got hit by a 6" or 7" ball right below my solar plexus. I couldn't breathe for next (4)5 minitues! I switched to the safer game of cricket. Then came the glory days of watching Donald, Waqar, Mike Atherton, Mark Waugh, Akram and Sachin. I was hooked to the long form. Those guys were throwing their all out for batting/bowling a whole day while I could barely manage 4 overs on a trot.
Was it the admiration for those or the lack of ability on my part that made me say that long form is better? Maybe. Though I would say a good player is good in all forms of the game. Then comes the question of statistics. Statistics are never good in a small sample space. At least, this much I have learned in my engineering. A few advantages of learning without experience , and which sometimes pacify my inner urges of going out and bowling damn fast or curling the ball, which I still do in my mind.
When Sourav and Sachin used to win matches for us, with those great opeing partnerships, we used to jump up in glee. We used to say, next world cup is ours. It does not matter if Baichung Bhutia is going to Aston Villa, Sachin is Yorkshire's first overseas player! We may not participate in FIFA world cup, but the next ICC world cup is ours. The "next world cup" had to wait for 3 editions which I faithfully watched and in the end said, again, "next time". We were not so bad in long form. When Ganguly became captain, there was an energy in the team - winning energy! Nobody can say earlier teams lacked energy! Srinath and V(egetarian) Prasad used to spit fire! But we started winning.
In both long form and short form we started winning.
I have stopped watching tests because I have to earn my bread, for which I have to work and my manager doesn't give me leave to watch cricket for 90 hours played in the sun (wherever they are played!). I do not watch ODI's because they are usually slog matches. And when I watch the T20 matches, I do not see flair in strokes nor do I see fire in the balls. I have kept away from the game which had given me so much of proud moments, sad moments, fine moments and all other emotions for a young kid high on sports.
Under Dhoni, I am not finding that winning energy in tests.Is the Captain to blame? So much for the statistics - I would rather say the way he gives youngsters a chance might be the culprit. Ganguly made the team out of youngsters, but he somehow managed to make them perform in winning situations. Dhoni does not seem to get that always right. He might be experimenting too much, but test is not simply given the name like that. That is where you either fail or pass. Anyone who plays 90 over, and comes out good should be trained/mentored. I would say, forget the glams of Kohli in Flying Machine, Jadeja in Reebok, take the players through the hard test of playing the long game. Let the game speak, not the 20-30 clips in Star sports or ESPN.
I hope Dhoni get to like winning in tests as much as he likes to win in other two forms.
Labels: All Time, Cricket, India, Self
// posted by Rajasekhar @ 6:17 PM 
