MS Dhoni in white retires for the MS Dhoni in Blue

Published on: Tuesday 30 December 2014 //

MS Dhoni, Dhoni retirement, MS retires, Test, Cricket Dhoni in Whites and Dhoni in Blue are two different personalities altogether. (Source: AP file)

MS Dhoni retires…Dhoni ne liya sanyas (Dhoni calls it a day)…Dhoni retirement shocks cricketing fraternity…Dhoni retires…Dhoni this, Dhoni that, Dhoni who, Dhoni why?


Why…Yes, why did MS Dhoni retire from Tests, midway through a series. Wait, doesn’t sound right.


Instead, why should have Dhoni stayed? Ummm…aammm…aaah…


Blank.


When was the last time Dhoni turned a game on his head? When was the last time he played a quality Test knock? When was the last time he showed intent on the field, in Tests? When?


Blank.


A career lasting 90 Tests was under scrutiny, intense scrutiny for 60 Tests – the number of games he led the side. While the cushion of home wins, a string of them, ensured a numbers-friendly run, the appalling results abroad always kept him in the critics’ radar. Is he a good captain? Yes. In Tests? No.


Dhoni in Whites and Dhoni in Blue are two different personalities altogether. While the former is reactive, the latter is proactive. While the former lets a game slip, the latter changes the course with astute thinking. It is not always possible for a player to excel in all formats and conditions. Same applies to captains.


In home conditions he was a tiger, a tiger staring the opposition in their face, a tiger rotating his spinners and dictating terms on slow, low dustbowls. Away, he was the complete opposite.


He seemed helpless. Just like a fish out of water – falling short of ideas, falling short of options. Struggling with resources he would dictate terms with back home.


What next?


This announcement is nothing alarming or something which should trigger emergency meetings, brain storming, contemplating future and stuff. In Kohli, an eager captain, if not ready, is charged-up for the challenge. In Wriddhiman Saha or Naman Ojha or Sanju Samson, we can fill in the keeper’s slot with a specialist who can be equally handy with the bat.


For Dhoni, it would be Mission World Cup Defence.


The author tweets @sahil_malhotra1


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