Dhoni and Cook, Two Poor Captains Leading Test Teams, India V England Investec Test Series

It is a no brainer to know who are the two worst captains, especially in test cricket, at the moment. The answer is - Alastair Cook (Captain of England) and MS Dhoni (Captain of India). If you want to see most boring test cricket being played, then watch when these two lead their teams in the field. The game of cricket dies every moment when these two gentlemen take care of it.

So far the Investec test series India V England (2014) has been tied at 1-1 scoreline. India won at lords when conditions were more favorable to English team while England won at Southampton when pitch turned square on last day, the conditions that one would imagine would suit the Indians more than the Englishmen. Such results further put captaincy, rather poor captaincy, in focus. The victories are not result of any strategic intelligence of captains but just a lottery.

MS Dhoni, the captain cool, is a wonderful and proven leader in One Day Cricket (ODI's), but has always been found wanted at test level. Since his contributions are not much to the teams cause in 5 day cricket, it makes matters worse. It is clear that he is in team because he is appointed as captain of India, else he will never be able to make as a player into the team just based on ability, wicket keeping and batting, both. This is sad because there are more talented players than him, like Naman Ojha and Sanju Samson waiting to get chance and show their talent to the world.

Alastair Cook is wide known for his strategical incompetence in the field of cricket. He is someone who is known to let the game drift, so much so that other teams often regain the lost momentum and get into position of strength from that of weakness. Of late he has been struggling to perform as an opening batsmen as well. He had a torrid time against Mitchell Johnson, Australian fast bowler, in Ashes last winter. Cook has not scored a test century in his last 28 innings in test cricket. He showed signs of coming back to form with two half centuries at Southampton. But the fact that innings was full of luck, and chances that opposite team failed to grab doesn't quite give the confidence that he is indeed back in form.

Both captains are dependent on couple of players to get the result in their favor. If Ishant Sharma (now out of injury) doesn't fire for India, India cannot pick 20 wickets to win a test match, it is clear. Same is the case with England. If controversial James Anderson, medium pace swing bowler of England, doesn't get it right, no way England cricket team is winning any game of cricket.

Who will win the Investec Test  series India V England 2014, is anybody's guess. Both teams look equally vulnerable at the moment. Even wins does't guarantee anything. Such is the past record of both these teams, full of losses and defeats, that one cannot rule out them being back to worse once they start to loose a session of play.

Now the cricketing carvan move to Old Trafford, Manchester for the fourth test. Since both captains are tied as poor test captains, it will be no surprise that the match ends in draw, followed by another one at oval with similar result and test series ends in a tie. Although the controversy between James Anderson and Ravindra Jadeja, forcing BCCI and ECB to react in a hostile manner, might add much needed spice to contest.

Gautam Gambhir potentially a better test cricket captain than MS Dhoni

Mahendra Singh Dhoni or MSD in short continues to remain the captain of Inidian Cricket team even though he has the shameless away record among all the Indian captains thus far. The 8-0 away series drubbing where India lost to mediocre England and bore Cricket Australia's team in past couple of years has had no affect on MS Dhoni's captaincy as he continues to remain the most tactless captain ever. Under him India is likely to loose all the away matches this year as well. This will not be because of lack of quality players under him but because of his inability to use what he has got.

Gautam Gambhir - A Perfect Captain

MS Dhoni continuation as captain of India despite head shaker losses raises a question of two about the availability of resources for captaincy of India. Does India lack players who can lead the national team? After thinking about it - answer is comprehensive 'NO'. Far from it - India has many potentially great captains waiting to get an opportunity to serve the nation. Gautam Gambhir is the front runner in the race. The way he has been able to lift the morale of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 7 after a horrible start to the league is a prime example of his leadership qualities. Some of the international great players like AB De Villers have openly said in press that Gautam Gambhir has a potential to become the great captain. Jaques Kallis, now retired from test cricket, also shares the same view. Only problem with Gautam Gambhir is his own form which is not enabling him to get into the first eleven and hence the captaincy looks far away thing to be had.

Form is not the only thing that denies players to get their true position in Indian cricket, there is politics too. Everyone knows the backing MS Dhoni get from selectors, although Mohinder Amarnath was exception and he had to paid the price for raising voice against MS Dhoni, and has done quite well in limited over cricket. This is another problem in Indian Cricket. If you do some thing well in ODI and T 20 cricket you are considered good for test cricket as well. This is especially true if your godfathers are in cricket commentary who are also the former greats. You might be wondering what commentators has to do with who gets the captaincy or not? It matters a lot in Indian cricket. If a 'kar' and 'tri' says good things about you - no one can replace you from captaincy position. On the other hand if 'kar' and 'tri' don't like you - you won't be in a team no matter however good your performance has been. Then there is 'ogle' as well - master of creating the environment in favor and in against (mostly against) the player. Ask Yuvraj Singh, Virat Kohli, and Ishant Sharma, if you don't know what I am saying, how the comments from Mr. Ogle has made their cricketing career a hell at various times.

They say that all salute the shining sun. MS Dhoni is a shining sun even though he is not the best captain for India at the test cricket level. Bad luck is that he has age and so many other factors backing him. This means that the most deserving players who can captain India, especially Gautam Gambhir, will continue to be kept denied the opportunity captain the Indian Cricket team. India is most likely to suffer another whitewash by the hands of England in the upcoming test series this summer. MS Dhoni might win the IPL 7 for CSK Chennai Super Kings but he will struggle to win a test match series for India, for sure.

ODI is a role based cricket game, please understand india

Indian cricket team is loosing most of the ODI (One Day International) cricket matches off late. And as always, experts from India have found a reason of loss in lack of technique of batsmen and poor bowling resources. But things aren't straightforward as that. India is confusing ODI cricket and Test Match Cricket.

Don't underestimate role of finishers in ODI
cricket!

India is of the theory of playing out first 10 overs without loosing a wicket and settle for a score between 20-30 runs and then accelerate later on with wickets in hands. But for that to happen you need finishers in the team. Without Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, there are no finishers in this indian team. India have selected players who might have good solid front foot and back foot defense, and may be who are better looking against short pitch bowling than Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh, but this ploy of selecting technincally good batsmen has messed up everything. With theory of saving wickets at top, you would really like to have players at the end who have ability to attack and cover up for slow and secure starts. Not only Indian team is not getting off to fast starts, as was the case when Sehwag and Gambhir were around, to make matter worst they are not looking secure as well, loosing couple of wickets early.

On the name of technique some very good players have been dropped. Yuvraj Singh can hit 6 sixes in an over and Suresh Raina can hit few of them as well. You need to have that ability even if you can't do it every time.

At top of the order you need someone to get as many as possible in powerplay overs, at least look to do that, especially in subcontinent since it is mighty difficult to do anything against old ball on slow and low pitches and with bowlers like 'Lasith Malinga' and 'Saeed Ajmal' bowling accurately. But Indian Cricket is lost in theories. There are people of 1970's and 1980's sitting in commentary boxes representing India who don't waste any time criticising players if they get out trying to play their role.

Rohit Sharma can easily play freely and go over the top, but he won't do that because he knows that someone sitting in commentary box will reprimand him if he gets out trying to play his role, even make him look like a schoolboy with his words and blame him of not having elementary cricket knowledge. Interestingly, the same man would praise and shower all the appreciation on Kusal Perera and Shahid Afridi if they slog a few terming it as good strategy and as per their role.

India has never given respect to someone who has maintained average of 35 (more than Mahela Jaywardene's) and strike rate of 95 (again more than Mahela Jaywardene's) over 200 caps. On the name of bad technique and how a player looks suspect against a bouncy ball, India is quite happy to drop their finishers and instead select those who might look a bit solid but can never get as many as India needs to achieve a safe score.

Ajinkya Rahane has had a good start to its test career. According to theory of Indian cricket pundits "one who is good test players is surely a good ODI player," but it is not true always. Ajinkya Rahane has looked tense and incapable to consistently do what Suresh Raina did with good consistency, and that is to get those 35 runs at strike rate of 100 in slog overs. It requires skills, a different skill than may be what is required in test cricket.

But Indian Cricket is confused. They fail to understand that ODI cricket is a role based cricket. You need cricketers who can maximize the first 10 overs, consolidate the mid innings, and then finish their batting with a bang.

Much blame of it goes to commentators like Hasrha Bhogle, Aakash Chopra, Sunil Gavaskar, and Ravi Shastri. Their old theories and the environment that it creates, is not helping indian cricket at all.

Harsha Bhogle says: "We are going back to times when people used to take time in first 15 overs," Really? Jesse Ryder, Kusal Perera, Quinton De Kock all are trying to get as many as possible in first few overs. Let Indian openers do that, and please don't impose your theory so much that they don't even try to attack a bit.

Onus entirely on Virat Kohli to win Asia Cup cricket tournament

India began their Asia Cup tournament with victory over hosts Bangladesh, thanks to yet another magnificent century, while chasing, by captain Virat Kohli. Virat is captaining side in absence of regular captain MS Dhoni who is not participating due to injury.

136 runs that Virat Kohli scored were absolutely essential. It seems like he has to do it again and again if India needs to win Asia Cup. This is because the players coming before him and after him, look incapable of handling the pressure. The team selected is bit of a 'joke', to be frank.

How far can Virat Kohli take India?

ODI cricket is a role based game. You need to have openers who can take advantage of field restriction overs and power hitters to maximize the score in the end. India is missing both of them.

Openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma have been struggling for long as One Day Cricket openers. They started brightly with century partnerships in Champions Trophy but faded quite quickly after that. Shikhar Dhawan though has impressed in Test Cricket, the most difficult form of cricket, as per experts, but Rohit Sharma has struggled in all forms of cricket that he has played, although he has been publicised as 'most talented' batsmen by same experts.

After openers come Virat Kohli and he has been the main reason for India maintaining its number 2 position in ICC One Day Cricket rankings.

But If Virat Kohli fails, does India have players who can win matches by accelerating the scoring if need be? Answer is comprehensive 'no'. Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh, 2 of the best finishers in ODI cricket have been dropped because experts, Aakash Chopra, Harsha Bhogle, Sanjay Manjrekar, Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri, Sourav Ganguly etc, have made it a point on more than one occasion during their commentary stints that both Raina nd Yuvra are not capable of handling the 'short balls'. It has created environment against both Yuvraj and Raina, pressure on selectors mounted as a result, and both have been dropped to please these stalwarts of Indian cricket.

Mind you, Yuvraj was man of the series in World Cup of 2011 and Suresh Raina played match winning knock in quarter finals against Australia in the same tournament. Both of them have changed the equation in India's favor, by quick running and strong hitting under pressure, if one is frank in his analysis of cricket. Also people like Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma etc, who have replace those two are getting out on even normal full length deliveries along with 'short pitch bowling' and india have possibly replaced better players with worst players.

Others are new comers. Ambati Rayudu, Cheteshwar Pujara, Stuart Binny haven't even faced a single ball of likes of 'Lasith Malinga' and 'Umar Gul'. It will be unfair to expect them to hit sixes and fours of them, and India will need them to do that if they want to win Asia Cup at some point or the other.

This leaves Virat Kohli to do a lot. Apart from leading young and inexperienced team, he needs to settle the ship every time because openers are ordinary, accelerate the scoring and bat long every time, then stay at the end to make sure India have a good finish. It's too much of an ask of 25 years old man.

Indian selectors have committed a blunder here. Even if India wins the tournament, the team selection will require some explanation.

Will MS Dhoni resign from indian cricket captaincy?

"Time for Dhoni to go," writes Ian Chappell, former Australian captain, and probably the only sensible cricket writer and thinker left in the world.

Ian is right, what more should a test captain do to lose his job? Dhoni & Duncan fletcher have become synonymous to overseas defeats that they both do not deserve to continue in their jobs.

MS Dhoni, probably the greatest finisher in the game of cricket, and truly a great limited overs captain with couple of world cups under his belt, has failed miserably as a test match captain. There are calls of him being replaced by Virat Kohli as captain of India.

MS Dhoni, Will he take responsibility and resign?

See: MS Dhoni misfiring captain of India Cricket

MS Dhoni's performance as a leader of Indian cricket has been disappointing, especially in longer format of the game. It is not just about lack of runs, but it is also about inability to inspire and take the best out of what is available to him. His fan's might say 'captain is as good as his team', but isn't it true as well that 'good captains are able take best out of their players' thereby lifting up the performance of their team. Arjuna Ranatunga, Sourav Ganguly, and at present Brendon McCullum are prime examples of it. All of them started their captaincy stint with bunch of inexperienced players.

It's not that the past captains of India had battery of fast bowlers or world class spinners available to them. Indian spinners never made the same impact on foreign tours as at home. But they combined with their captains and together they were able to put up a good show. Yes India lost then as well, but never looked as hopeless as they are looking now under Dhoni. Something seems to be missing between Dhoni and his team members, and by the looks of it things are likely to remain same in the future as well. There is air of hopelessness surrounding Indian cricket.

Its a torture watching India play test matches these days especially when they are bowling. Dhoni has lead India to a dark period (like in 90's) in the test Arena. An Indian fan would agree with me when i say that he doesn't bother watching when India is bowling and i don't blame him. I mean, who would want to watch Ishant Sharma bowl?? Playing the same set of spineless bowlers again and again and again is more than enough to be losing interest in this Indian team. Some people talk about how Dhoni is not as blessed as say a Graeme Smith or Michael Clarke when it comes to bowlers. How can Dhoni unearth a good bowler if he doesn't give the new guys any opportunities?? There is enough bowling talent in India which he doesn't bother to utilize. A new captain might change this and might give opportunities to a lot of new talent.

There is no doubt that he is a defensive captain. He himself stated that he doesn't like to take risks when he refused to chase down 60 odd runs in last session in West Indies to win a test match. One sometimes wonder what he sees as risk is really a risk or just lack of confidence in himself and his team. May be this is the reason why he always keeps fielders in the deep, follow the ball, and always field first because he fear that his bowlers, which he don't trust, won't be able to defend the total. Batting 2nd has been counterproductive and has put inexperienced batting order under pressure of chasing 300 plus totals.

Dhoni has no knowledge of the conditions or field placement when playing outside the sub-continent. Also, he does not lead by example. You see successful team wicket keepers are batting so beautifully like AB De Villiers for SA, Brad Haddin for Aus, Matt Prior until of late for Eng. But Dhoni has never played a match winning innings for India in tests outside India. He never will but he does not have the quality to do so.

Under MS dhoni even proven performers like Virendar Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, and Yuvraj Singh, have failed to perform at their best. All of them are now out of team. What has happened to them? Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, why they are not delivering under MS Dhoni? There can't be all wrong with such proven performers. There must be something wrong with Dhoni! May be those were too 'hot' players and MS like 'cool' playes just like himself. But hot and cool is not a question here, and not what MS Dhoni likes personally, India want players in the team who can perform, match after match, and a captain who can motivate them and not hurt their confidence by making irresponsible statements in the press conferences.

Worst thing about dhoni is that he doesn't allow individuals to express themselves. at 95-4 Aussies would have been all over their opponents under Michael Clarke but under Dhoni it was looking as if it was all over for India, at least that is what the feeling fans got watching the match on television. Virat Kohli, natutrally aggressive tried to disturb the concentration of batsmen just like any other team's player would have done when long partnership was going on between McCullum and BJ Watling, but then the voice came from stump mic 'take it easy' and kohli was all cold after that, runs continued to get plundered.

MS Dhoni had an experienced side full of talent on his plate when he started his captaincy. Current Indian team is full of young cricketers, especially batsmen, with Virat Kohli the only batsmen to have played more than 20 test matches. One would have thought that batting will not do well in overseas conditions, something that Indian batsmen have always struggled with, and India will continue to loose matches because of that. But opposite has happened. Both in South Africa and New Zealand, Indian batting order had put their team into winning positions, but such were the plans of MS Dhoni that the team managed to loose from position of strength. Bowlers can't be blamed because they showed the ability to pick wickets by picking up top order batsmen, but Dhoni wasn't too keen on picking up more wickets, it seemed.

MS Dhoni is also not keen on giving new player chances. Very talented Ajinkya Rahane carried drinks for couple of years and now Ishwar  Pandey, Umesh Yadav, Stuart Binny will do the same, unless someone else is given chance to lead the Indian team.

One good news is that Virat Kohli will lead Indian side in upcoming Asia Cup. 

See : Virat Kohli to captain in Asia Cup, MS Dhoni can learn lessons

It will allow selectors to assess the captaincy skills and leadership qualities of kohli. Many in India see him as a captaincy material. But there are others who feel kohli is too aggressive and not fit for the job. They want 'captain cool' to carry on. But as Rahul Dravid said recently 'you got to risk it all' and that is what one can surely expect from Virat Kohli.

Anyway, Indian cricket is not known to take tough calls. And it is very much possible that MS Dhoni would continue to lead the Indian side until the next world cup, and even after that, despite India continue to get hammered by the opposition teams when they tour. Former captains, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly, are also in favor of giving MS Dhoni a go till 2015 World Cup giving excuse that a new captain might not have enough time to built a team in such a short time. But problem is captaincy in test cricket and not one day cricket, so why not hand over captaincy to Virat Kohli in test matches and let MS Dhoni concentrate on ODI cricket.

The problem lies in our judgement being based on feelings and not facts . The future of Indian team performance in overseas tests cannot be sacrificed at the altar of 'personality Cult'.The fact is we have been thrashed thoroughly in 4 consecutive tours.The answers lies in a fresh combination of strategy and tactical inputs which only a new leader can infuse in his team and impose on the opposition keeping in view tours of England and Australia in the latter half of this year . MSD can be pursued with in the shorter formats as skipper,as his shelf life is well past the expiry date in tests overseas.

Criticism will continue and many people will speak as if they really think for the good of Indian cricket. But my experience tells me nothing will happen. Don't expect MS Dhoni to leave captaincy of Indian cricket team. No way he will resign. Virat Kohli might have to wait forever.

Should IPL7 happen or not?

IPL(Indian Premiere League), if it happens this year, will be in his 7th edition. This controversial league saw its worst days last year when few of the players caught red handed fixing matches, overs, and what not by Delhi Police. Given its history and controversial nature - Should IPL 7 take place or not?

Will fans see Auctioned IPL 2014 players playing
matches hitting sixes

To start off, there is already a problem that organisers of IPL are facing. Sushilkumar Shinde, home minister of India has made a statement "Due to general elections, it will be difficult to provide adequate security to IPL matches." Rumors are floating in cricket world that the 7th edition of IPL might be conducted in rainbow nation, South Africa.

South Africa? But didn't we read a lot about the boxing that is going on between the cricket board bosses of India and South Africa. Wasn't it right that Haroon Lorgat prepared schedule for India's tour of South Africa last year, and did it without consulting Indian counterparts, the Indian board felt like an upper cut was delivered to them. But BCCI members are tough elephants and they responded by delivering one below the belt by preparing a new schedule and tour was cut short to a length of micky-mouse film.

But confrontation among boards and how it will be organized is not the only problem which IPL7 is facing. There is more to it. The recent record of Indian national team, especially on foreign tours.

I have heard that most sportsperson have a huge self-respect . Given how Indian players performed in South Africa and New Zealand, will it not be a problem for them to captain players who did much better than them! McCullum will be playing under the leadership of MS Dhoni for Chennai Super Kings (CSK). The man who scored a triple century recently in Wellington Test, against a side captained by MS Dhoni. And MS Dhoni who? A man who  is now dropped from team and Virat Kohli is given the onus to captain India instead of misfiring captain.

See: Virat Kohli to captain India in Asia Cup

There will also be national elections, general elections 2014, during the time of IPL matches. With people having issues, and mad about getting them solve this time, and IPL without cheerleaders, it will be difficult for IPL 7 to attract interest. For the first time people will be more interested in Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal , and other neta's then MS Dhoni, N Srinivasan, and Gurunath Meiyappan. Country will be more important, for once, than the cricket VIPs.

Bad thing is that most discussion on politics are televised at prime time, 8 pm to 10 pm, in India. This is the same time when night matches of IPL are played. Not many people, excluding unemployed ones, watch day matches. I can't see how IPL7 can be successful this year. We might not see Chris Gayle hitting sixes and fours for RCB ( Royal Challengers Bangalore).

Virat Kohli to captain in Asia Cup, MS Dhoni can learn lessons

India's brightest middle order batsmen Virat Kohli is going to captain indian cricket team in Asia Cup tournament starting in Bangladesh from Feb 25, 2014 after a mysterious injury ruled out MS Dhoni from participating in the tournament. Dinesh Karthik will replace him as a wicket keeper batsmen. This should be well earned break for Dhoni even though it is due to injury. He needs rest. He has been playing non stop cricket and that must be very tiring. I hope he will rejoin the team fully reinvigorated and play his brand of Dhoom Dhoom cricket.

V Kohli is currently the only player in top 10 of ICC players rankings in all 3 formats of he game- His rankings are as follows: Test (9), ODI (2), T-20 (4).

India’s squad for Asia Cup 2014: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Virat Kohli (c), Cheteshwar Pujara, Ambati Rayudu, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Varun Aaron, Stuart Binny, Amit Mishra, Ishwar Pandey.

Perfect Timing for Virat Kohli to captain India

Dhoni has one of the highest workloads in the game of cricket. I think it is a good opportunity to see how the side does without him. While his overseas captaincy in Tests maybe unsatisfactory (compared to his otherwise high standards), there is no disputing his important presence and value as a player in the limited overs formats (ODIs and T20s). I think this is a good time for some rest for him though.

It is good to see the talented Dinesh Karthik get a chance. I think Karthik should still be a part of the WC 2015 team.

This development has occurred at interesting time, if one may say so. MS Dhoni has come under heavy criticism from former captains for the way he has lead the team recently, especially on foreign tours. Indian team's performance has been so dismal under him that former captain Sunil Gavaskar called it a 'powermouse' performance instead of 'powerhouse' (read: Is india powerhouse or powermouse of cricket). MS Dhoni has become a misfiring captain of indian cricket and India is looking for someone to control the sinking ship.

Talking about criticism, Saurav Ganguly termed the capataincy of dhoni as 'obnoxious', while Mohinder Amarnath said: "Dhoni is a defensive captain who allows opposition to make a comeback in the game. His record is good at home pitches only like any other Indian captain. There is nothing special about it. We need aggressive captains like Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi to win matches abroad, A captain has to lead from the front. Not a single Test captain in the world bats at number seven. What kind of example you are going to set. I sincerely feel that this is high time to relieve him from Test captaincy and although he is a match winner in ODIs, they should look at an option in shorter format as well."

Amarnath's wish has come true, although in somewhat mysterious circumstances as no one is able to decipher when and where Mahendra Singh Dhoni got injured. But it is golden opportunity for Virat Kohli to claim for the post of permanent captaincy of Indian cricket team.

Kohli has also lead Indain cricket team before but this is first time he will be captaining india in a high profile tournament. However, kohli will not have much of say in selection of Asia Cup squad as it is already selected. If Virat does well in the tournament with young side, who knows what might happen in future! He could be made captain of India for the World Cup of 2015 to be hosted next year by Australia and New Zealand jointly.

This happening can even help MS Dhoni to improved his captaincy skills, especially with young players. Virat Kohli has had experience of leading India Under 19 world cup team and he did win the tournament for India after having a very successful run. He is an aggressive leader and love to attack the opposition batsmen and enjoy pressurizing them with attacking fields. On certain  occasion he open up 'verbal attack' on opponents without really 'sledging'.

While Dhoni is known to be 'captain cool', there is every thing 'hot' when one talks about kohli, including his mesmerising batting.

But it is a double edged sword. For some reason cricket pundits in country always seems ready to come down heavily on virat kohli and criticise him. Personally I don't like undue criticism of players, especially if he is as talented as Virat Kohli. In fact even today I have sent down an email to Sanjay Manjerekar to ask him why there are double standards while judging Indian players and foreign players. I haven't got the reply yet. I'll share with you, if he replies. So if Kohli fail to deliver as captain in Asia Cup, there could be curtains as far as his fortunes for becoming permanent captain of India is concerned.

Without Dhoni, India looks vulnerable when it comes to absorbing the pressure and finishing the game.Thus Kohli has added responsibility.Also this will be Karthik's last chance of cementing the place in Team India.

Fan's reaction are interesting:

Venkateswar says: "Best thing ever happened Indian cricket team in recent times ... Hope he will go out of the Indian cricket permanently. Media and poor India gave him insanely over hype. India will be a better team if they bring 1) Cricketing knowledge and unbiased selection members to BCCI 2) Removal of 2-3 dummy players present in the present team."

Mika Singh is real fan of Mahi (MS Dhoni's nickname) "To all those of you who are continuously persisting with DK, he has played 67 odi's and has managed runs at an average of 28. How is that even close to MSD? Look at MSD and look at him. Msd is also a better wicket keeper. He plays cricket non-stop and hardly takes any break. No matter how much people criticize him, he has and will be the best wicket keeper batsman India has ever had. Look at dk 23 test at an average of 27, I mean if this guy can't play in subcontinent i don't think he can be any better overseas."

Tanvir Ahmad smells something fishy though " I have heard rumours that Raina will be implicated in match fixing for CSK by Supreme Court. Since Dhoni is captain of CSK, it maybe a precautionary move by BCCI to rest him. Also he has had a poor series all round in SA and NZ and it gives selectors a chance to try Kohli in a major tournament and at same time give Dhoni rest. Its all mind games to be honest and Asia Cup is low profile compared with upcoming World T20"

Sachin has his thoughts on cricket "This might be a blessing in disguise.I wish Duncan Fletcher would also be injured. Only if we could have made some changes in the team such as including Rishi D. Samson would have been an interesting but risky pick considering he doesnt regularly keep. We need to watch out for Samson and Kuldeep Yadav. If they are groomed well, they could be good long term prospects. Virat has to make some strong decisions like picking Mishra, Binny and Aaron/Pandey. He has to look beyond proved non performers." 

One hopes that Kohli will be able to uplift the moods in indian ranks. He has achieved great success in his cricketing career so far and it will be no surprise if he end up being the best cricket captain of india.

Starting 11 for India could be -

1. Dhawan 2. Rahane/Pujara 3.Kohli 4. Rohit 5.DK 6. Binny 7. Jadeja 8. Ashwin 9.Shami 10. Ishwar 11. Bhuvnesh/Aaron

mix of explosive power and caution in the opening, followed by "the awesome" Kohli , Rohit needs to stabilize middle order in Dhoni's absense (Mumbai Indians kind of role), erratic DK, power and some quick runs in binny, followed by Sir Jaddu, useful Ashwin and the bowling dept.

I want to include Mishra too considering tournament is in bangladesh (maybe at the expense of the most expensive pace bowler based on first ODI). He can bring in some more batting capacity too (compared to aaron/shami/bhuvi - dont know too much abt ishwar).

MS Dhoni calims India have improved since 8-0, Do you Agree?

After the defeat in Wellington, from a winning position, MS Dhoni, the captain of Indian cricket team, claimed that India has shown signs of improvement in last 2 series.

"We played after a long break outside the subcontinent. If you compare those two series [0-8] with the last few we have played, there is plenty of improvement. That's what it's all about. You want to keep improving to a stage where you start converting those good situations into better starts and start capitalising on it. So far you may say we haven't capitalised on the kind of starts when it came to our batting department, but still there is plenty of improvement. I will take that and move on to the next series," said MS Dhoni.

Have we really improved or there are only few positives that are blanketing plenty of negatives.

I'm someone who speaks more about process rather
than thinking about just results - MS Dhoni

Let us see what has really improved.

Batting - This is one area which every one related to indian cricket was really concerned about when there were talks going on about the retirements of Sachin Rendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Saurav Ganguly, and VVS Laxman. But the batting department has done well. New players like Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, and Cheteshwar Pujara has carried the batting with distinction in their young cricketing careers. Judging from the times the fab 4 played last couple of foreign tours, the present Indian batting lineup has done better despite inexperience. Batting of India has surely shown the signs of improvement with many exciting new batsmen fighting for the permanent slot in the squad.

Bowling - This has always been the weakest area of strength for cricket team of India. But it has reached new lows. Most bowlers in Indian team look unfit and incapable of picking up 20 wickets necessary to win test matches. Zaheer Khan, although look slim and trim, is bowling no more quicker than the speed of 130 kph. Ishant always struggles to find the right length, and Umesh Yadav is not captain's favorite, judging by the first eleven that have been selected to represent Indian team on the field by MS Dhoni.

Fielding - Definitely got better with arrival of young players. Ravindra Jadeja and Ajinkya Rahane needs special mention. While Jadeja is quick as a gazelle and quick on to the ball, you have to envy Rahane for the accuracy of his throws to the stumps. Both have turned quite a few cricket matches for India by displaying brilliant fielding acts.

Captaincy - Really confused about this department. While MS Dhoni seems to have won everything which a captain would dream for, including number 1 test match ICC ranking status, the performance overseas have been quite disappointing. There seems to be no strategy being adopted on the field of play. Opposition teams have been able free themselves from clutches of India on regular basis, especially overseas. Also there seems to be favoritism when it comes to selecting the best 11 players for the match. Haven't heard as many excuses before from a captain of game of cricket.

We almost lost the Jo'burg test- had it not been for a brilliant run out by Rahane, it was a goner. The 2nd Test in NZ, we should have won from the position we were in. Its another thing BigMac batted brilliantly, still should have atleast gone for the kill. The only positive I saw was Rahanes batting and Kohli. Ishant probably had an off day when he took those 6 wickets. Dhoni's captaincy as always, was unimaginative and strange! He does not pick the best XI for starters. Jaddu ( nickname of Ravindra Jadeja) in tests as a frontline spinner? Doesnt make sense, even though he has done well in India. Then there was the curious case of Stuart Binny in the ODIs- who was picked as an all rounder and did not bat and did not bowl. Dhoni is being too stubborn with his words and acts. Preserve him for ODIs- because we need him in that format. Get a new captain for tests and T20s.
I guess Dhoni will clutch on to any straws at this point in time. He knows he doesn't warrant a place in the test side unless he's captain so he's saying all the right things in front of the media. Personally, I think he's a superb player BUT fails big time as a captain in test cricket. If you see some of the other captains in world cricket like Michael Clarke and Brendon McCullum, all of them are aggressive and thoughtful captains. Plus, they all are blessed with good bowling line ups. India unfortunately doesn't have many good bowlers. The only way we can win overseas in tests is to have a potent bowling attack. As it stands now, India would do well to remain in the top 5.

MS Dhoni - Misfiring Captain of India cricket team

India's tour of New Zealand is over, but there is no good news for indian cricket and it's fans. India has managed to loose yet another series playing away from home under the captaincy of 'captain cool' MS Dhoni. The same captain who has won two world cups and many other ODI tournaments, like champions trophy, is loosing his fans (as a leader) very quickly.

It all started with a test match in West Indies where India bought the shutters down with less than 100 runs to win an illusive test match in Caribbean Islands. India did win the series, but didn't show what is expected from a number 1 ranked test team in ICC cricket rankings.

After that what followed Indian Cricket was series of losses, in fact whitewashes, that are now part of most painful era of Indian Cricket in recent years.

Those losses were seen by cricket pundits as normal events. It was believed that few great players are not at the peak of their games and nearing retirements. They all retired, one after the another, but nothing changed. VVS Laxman, Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, all have hanged their boots. Even people like Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, and Harbhajan Singh are not there in the team to disturb the great plans of MS Dhoni. He ca do whatever he wants. There is no one to say to him 'this strategy is not working'. He can bench certain players for the entire tour, like what Ishwar Pandey and Stuart Binny have just experienced in New Zealand, but can he continue to keep leading India after amassing the most disappointing cricket record, when it comes of victories overseas, for India.

Is MS Dhoni on the verge of loosing captaincy

Yes there are CSK (Chennai Super Kings) fans and few others that love Mahendra Singh Dhoni, but there are many who now hates him. Criticism of MS Dhoni is at its peak.

"I think he [Dhoni] doesn't trust his bowling attack as much as I think he should," Dravid said. "I saw that even in the Test match in Durban, where he didn't take the new ball till 146 overs. In fact he was forced to take the new ball. He didn't trust his fast bowlers to be able to take wickets. He kept playing with the older ball because he wanted to control the runs. So I think that is a slightly defensive mindset that he's got into.

"I think he's got to realise this very quickly, that if he wants to win Test matches abroad, he's got to risk it all. He's got to take that chance that he's going to have to lose some Test matches. The only way you can win abroad is to take a few risks, take a few gambles."

Overseas, Dhoni has captained India in 23 Tests, of which they have won five, lost 11 and drawn seven. At home, his record is much better - 21 wins, three defeats and six draws. Asked if he should continue as Test captain, given India's upcoming Test tours to England and Australia, Dravid said Dhoni deserved a chance to set his record right.

For guys who keep complaining about bowling options, please, please tell me what does a bowler need to more than reduce the opposition 5 wickets down? There are swipes which will go over WK head, nicks which go to 3rd man boundary. That happens, and there are times when the no. 6/7 will score a century even with that. Arent we already loosing matches with the defensive mindset? Whats the harm in attacking and loosing? Then there was last test match, we had two days, two whole days!! There was absolutely no need for hit or get out by him or Jaddu, havent they learned anything from Faf, their CSK mate? Then there is a school of thought for Dhoni, the batsmen. Had it been Tendulkar, Dravid or Laxman this same guy would have howled out about them under performing. Between 2010 and SA tests, Dhoni had played 15 tests, averaging 26 while scoring 685 runs overseas. That speaks volumes about his utility in the team. IMO people should give up on India winning overseas tests until he resigns.

Girdhar Krishnan says: "I still maintain that Dhoni is a horrible captain in all formats. Its just that he is lucky to win even with bad decisions like playing piyush chawla and sreesanth in World Cup. Even then I maintain he is better than Virat Kohli who has no temperament and and has thrown the match away due to poor shot selection in IPL as well as for India. I believe Shewag or Gambir can be other options but they are not in the team. So its best from India's point of view Dhoni continues to lead till 2015 WC and then he can continue his dream run of CSK. Selectors should step in and take wise decisions, if you give any team 4 such bowlers its tough. Batting alone will never win matches. BTW Kohli was the culprit this match dropping such a simple chance due to his complacency. Groom bowlers and groom someone like Rahane or Pujara to be the Captain. For now Dhoni is the best problem India can have as replacing that problem will cause only more disaster."

I believe that Dhoni definitely should resign in tests. In ODIs I don't mind his captaincy although even in ODIs away from home, India have been very poor recently. I would also say that he should either give up the gloves and focus on his batting technique to stay in the test team because at the moment it is only his captaincy which keeps him in the team, his batting is not good enough away from home and there are better keepers in India that will play a fighting innings like BJ Watling did and won't throw their wicket away.

Being defensive when you are in front of the game against any opposition is stupid and this is what Dhoni has done over the last 3/4 years. We need a change. We have much promise in our team, both batting and bowling, but we need to pick the right team which Dhoni fails to do too.

 

Dhoni has however found some support "Dhoni still deserve to be captain once he got right bowling combination. With this bowling unit i dont think india gonna win a serious abroad. Specially when you go with eight batter's and only three bowlers.Poor team selection cost india!", said a fan of MS Dhoni.

India vs NZ wellington test - Ishant Sharma 6 wickets help India bundles out New Zealand for 192

The move to grow extra inch of grass by New Zealand cricket board, on advice of captain Brendon McCullum, backfired big time as he lost the toss yet again against MS Dhoni the Indian captain. New Zealand batsmen found Indian bowlers, especially Ishant Sharma, too hot to handle and were unable to cope up with the pace and bounce generated from lanky fast bowler. The spell reminded of Ishant Sharma Vs Ponting in Australia.

Ishant Sharma had something to hit back at crictics

This sort of day must open the eyes of people like Mike Hesson who talked of testing Indian batsmen on green surfaces. Now he has to explain how inept his own batsmen were on such a pitch. He also must know that Indian seamers do a fine job when they get some assistance from the pitch. As for Team India, they need to be patient tomorrow during the first hour and then try to build a healthy first innings total. A lead of 100-150 is what is needed if they want to put pressure on NZ. Indian bowlers have delivered and now it is the batsmen who must stand up and put a good price on their wickets to enable Team India achieve the elusive test win.
New Zealand finished with 192 runs in board at the end of first innings, but India we sitting in a commanding position at the end of day's play at 100 runs for loss of just 2 wickets, thanks to brilliant 71 not out from Shikhar Dhawan. Murali Vijay was bit unlucky, again, to got out gloving the ball while leaving it at a personal score of 2. Cheteshwar Pujara tried to hang in there but couldn't handle the swing from Trent Boult and was trapped plumb in front of wickets as he was out LBW (Leg Before Wicket) at the score of 19 runs.

The scorecard, India vs New Zelaland 2nd test match, Wellington at the end of 1st day's play looked like this:

India vs New Zealand, cricket scorecard, stumps 1st day 2nd test 2014
at wellington

Earlier the day belonged to  ever criticized Ishant Sharma who made an immediate impact after Zaheer Khan, the most experienced bowler in current Indian lineup wasted the new ball and again did not manage to pick up a single wicket. His time at international level seems to be over and may be Umesh Yadav must be given a chance to perform.

Ishant Sharma has had a tough time. Critics have been after him as his returns in test cricket haven't been up to the expectations. There has been questions asked of him and his inability to produce spells like he produced at start of his career. Ishant Sharma so far has taken 158 wickets at a high average of  37.63 in 54 test matches. India looked at him as a future spearhead, sometime in past, but he hasn't quite lived up to the expectations. Although it will be only fair to say that he has been wasted by making him play on dead pitches in India and where spinners has more part to play with bowl then the fast men. Also captains haven't even given him opportunity to bowl at lower order batsmen in India. This is a part of reason of high average. Most overs, in India, are bowled by spinners and hence seam bowlers don't have opportunity to pick many wickets. This is quite different from other parts of world. Recently we saw in South Africa, where Dale Steyn wen wicket-less for most part of the match but he ended up with few wickets as the captain allowed him to polish off the tail.

The reactions from cricket fans are always interesting, and lets read some of them.

IndianSRTFan: "Good performance by India. The bowling unit was disciplined and Ishant and Shami have bowled very well. It is easy to overlook Zak's contribution but he didn't allow NZ openers to get away with a brisk start. Though India would dearly love some early wickets from him, his influence on other two bowlers was there too see particularly with him walking up to Shami and Ishant whenever they bowled too many boundary balls.
India has a hidden advantage here (at least in tests). Because it doesn't appear formidable at the first glance, the opposition batsmen are trying to dominate the Indian bowling attack almost from the word go. Indian bowlers have smartly used that to their advantage. In last 5-6 innings this has happened thrice. They are certainly far from consistent but there's a potential for a good pool of 5-6 fast medium bowlers all with different strengths. Batting is strong and with experience and a good varied bowling attack oversees wins will come. But we need to be patient here."

gundapps wasn't impressed with Zaheer Khan and rightly so, he says: "Good day for India - well played. However can't help but think that the Indians could have got NZ all out well below 150 had they included either Pandey or Bhuvi in place of Zaheer (he was quite unimpressive in these most helpful conditions). India might yet rue this selection blunder before they see the last of this Test since the conditions are such it is quite possible they may not get much of a lead in the first innings and will have to bat last."

Even after good bowling day there was bit of indiscipline. To get Kane Williamson out twice on no-balls is not misfortune. It is lack of basic discipline amongs't fast bowlers. Coaches have to stop them from bowling anything close to a no ball in practice if they are to avoid such spurious 'misfortune'.

Kapil Dev bowled only 23 no balls in his entire career in Test matches. That is less than one no ball in 500 deliveries ? 1 no ball every 6 Test matches. This has nothing to do with pace and all to do with discipline. Kapil's 0.18% of no balls is among the best since these were credited to bowlers and therefore records available.

Even Anil Kumble bowled 8 times more no balls than Kapil at 1.53 % and Shane Warne five times more at 1.03% .

Brett Lee bowled 640 no balls while taking 310 test wickets while that terror of a toe crusher from Pakistan, Waqar Younis bowled only 45 while taking 373 !

Richard Hadlee hardly EVER bowled a no ball. What misfortune are we talking about ?

Can India stop loosing streak by winning wellington test match vs New Zealand

In the recent past, India's overseas performance is as worst as it can ever be. Under MS Dhoni, the Indian team is going through its worst phase when it comes to winning test matches abroad. India have now lost more away Tests under Dhoni than any other captain. His win-loss ratio of 0.45, though, is much better than the captain he just went past, Mohammad Azharuddin. Rahul Dravid's 1.25 remains the best away win-loss ratio for an Indian captain.

Can MS Dhoni win one overseas test for India?

Question is when will this humiliation stop for India cricket? Earlier MS Dhoni was excused, as the ageing players nearing their retirement were identified as main reason for India's disappointing performances in England and Australia. Now youngsters have replaced them and have shown bit of improvement, to be fair, especially in batting department. In particular Murali Vijay, Virat Kohli, and Cheteshwar Pujara have shown the stomach for fight and to play out the hostile pace bowling on especially prepared green wickets for Indian batsmen. But bowling hasn't shown any improvement and this is the department that should lift itself if India has to win test matches. Afterall, its 20 wickets that wins you a test match, no matter how well you batted.

In South Africa the performance of batsmen was commendable, especially when one consider that almost all the new batsmen were on their first outing in the rainbow nation and there was huge lack of experience in those conditions. Same could be said about certain bowlers as well, but where India got hurt was the ineffectiveness of experienced bowlers like Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, and Ravichandran Ashwin. India should have won the Johannesberg test, only if they had some reasonable bowlers. Not many teams get into such position of strength against South Africa, as India did.

The bowlers can take confidence from second innings of first test where they managed to bundle out New Zeland for just over a 100 run mark. Indian batsmen also put up great fight, although they ended up on loosing side with some major decisions not going their way. But they can't complain as they are the ones who are opposing DRS (Decision Review System) which could have saved them against the howlers. Umpires also seem to happy to give players out, on first instance, who are against their friend called DRS.

India will need a good start again from their opening batsmen. As I said before that Murali Vijay is making honest efforts, but he need to play a big inning and score some runs, as that is what matters in the end. India is a statistics mad country when it comes to cricket. Nobody remembers the fight, that opener did well to play off the new ball and took the shine off the ball, but they always talk in number of runs -especially centuries. Shikhar Dhawan, on the other hand, did manage to get monkey of his back a bit by scoring a classy 100. Virat kohli also looked determined, although he got out pulling a long hop. Sunil Gavaskar in his column pointed finger towards Kohli and ask him to take a mature approach rather than macho approach. Although, it looks a bit of overreaction and Virat Kohli is always been targeted for no reason for long time in Indian cricket despite giving some scintillating performances.

The most disappointing performers in indian cricket team are Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane. Both these players are continued to be promoted as 'talented players' by Mumbai lobby, but haven't shown any of that talent when playing for national team. Even yuvraj singh and VVS laxman, with their talent, were not given as much leeway as these tow have given, when it comes to performances in test match cricket. Obviously, double standards are continued to be practiced in Indian cricket. If India needs to stop the loosing streak and want to have wins rather than defeats against their name, they need to throw out non-performers, and need to back those who are real fighters. Ravindra Jadeja has shown himself to be one such fighter.

India also needs a better captaincy, a better leader. Sometimes it appears that there is too much talent on disposal of MS Dhoni, but to show the world that he has derived some special strategies, he makes the mockery of the game and his resources.

Hopefully India will win the second and final test match against New Zealand and come back with some confidence in hand before the start of Asia Cup.

Should Dinesh Karthik replace MS Dhoni as wicket keeper batsmen in Indian cricket team

Dinesh Karthik has played 23 test matches so far for India and has mustered 1000 runs at a reasonable average of 27.77. On the other hand MS Dhoni has scored 4391 runs in 82 test matches at a better average of 38.51. But the calls of KD karthik replacing MS Dhoni are coming more frequently than before.

While the above record suggests that Mahendra Singh Dhoni has delivered better performances, the fact of the matter is that he has done no way near his overall record in overseas conditions. Given that Dinesh Karthik has opened in foreign conditions, the records are quite comparable.

With all other things equal the comparison will come down to wicket keeping skills. Surely Karthik, in short DK,  is more close to world class wicket keeper in game of cricket when compared to Dhoni. He is more energetic, flexible, athletic, and vocal behind the stumps then the vice president of India cements and CSK captain who is also the current Indian captain. But should this be reason for replacing dhoni with karthik. Isn't it a fact that there are keepers like Sanju Samson, who are more athletic and possess exciting batting talent then even karhik. Then why only Kathik and no one else? one may argue.

MS Dhoni's place is safe as a church in ODI cricket,
but questions are raised about his position in test team

Dinesk Karthik needs to do a bit more as well. This is what prasanna has suggested: "What DK (Dinesh Karthik) needs to do is treat each inning he plays as his last & concentrate for longer periods of time & make big hundreds. Also he should open for TN (Tamil Nadu) in FC (First Class) matches & make big runs.. He is too talented a player & deserves a place in the test & T20 teams. I thought he batted beautifully as an opener in the tests he played in England & SA , which is very hard to do. DK please work hard & make the selectors sit up & take notice of your performances. Your time will surely come. But when it comes please make sure to grab the opportunity with both hands & both legs as well.,if possible..!!!"

Can Dinesh karthik prove to be a better test batsmen?

On the other hand Chandu (a cricket fan) is tearing his hair apart and asking what wrong has kathik done. Here is what chandu says: "What more poor Dinesh Karthick has to do to earn his place in the team. Even as a mere batsman (forget he being a keeper), he's a lot better than others currently playing in the team. He does very well abroad contrary to many other flat pitch bullies in the team now. He was unceremoniously dropped after the Champions trophy despite doing a lot better than many other batsmen in that team. At least, for T20 world cup, he must have been selected. He plays a lot of innovative shots and is an agile fielder too. Varun Aron has been tested already and is sure going to prove a pain in Doni's neck! Ishwar Pandey must be played and not to benched further."

Actually the main reason for calling MS Dhoni's head and early retirement from test cricket is much to do with his captaincy in test matches. India's dismal overseas record in recent past and losses to minnows like South Africa and New Zealand hasn't been taken well by the cricket loving public of India. The lazy and laid back approach and extended backing of certain players despite poor performances, like Ravichandran  Ashwin, has also frustrated cricket fans. People are saying that if it was some other man who was leading the Indian cricket team he would have been dropped from team by now.

Prasanna_79 really wants MS Dhoni to be dropped "It would have been very nice if Dhoni had been removed from captaincy & Gambhir included as a captain..( Day dreaming for a better team may be.. ) At least the think tank should tryout pujara as an opener in place of rohit & rohit can be used as a middle order bat in place of raina.. Also it would have been nice if the team had options in the spin-bowling allrounders dept like say a parvez rasool who would be useful in sub-continental conditions instead of Ajinkya Rahane.. My line-up for the Asia Cup would be Dhawan,Pujara,Kohli,Rohit,Dhoni,Binny /( Raina would have been a better choice in sub-continental conditions..,he is less likely to receive bouncers at very good pace in bangladesh but he has had his chances ),Ashwin / (Ideally P.Rasool could have been tried out),Jadeja,B.Kumar,M.Shami,V.Aaron. My Ideal ODI team for 2015 WC would be : Dhawan,Pujara,Kohli,Gambhir (c),Rohit,Dhoni,Binny/A.Nayar,R.Jadeja,R.Dhawan,V.Aaron/U.Yadav,M.Shami Reserves : B.Kumar,D.Karthik,P.Rasool."

But then the question is: "Who will captain India cricket if MS Dhoni is dropped?" This is where selectors are struggling to find the answer. With number of experienced players getting retired in recent past, and others being sidelined, the selectors don't seem to have the option for the post of captaincy of indian team.

But something needs to be done to solve the dhoni's captaincy problems as it is clearly affecting the performance of Indian team. The best way to answer the question is to ask "Who is more likely to replace MS Dhoni's place as a captain of India after his retirement." This way selectors might find some probables for the captaincy post of indian cricket team. Clearly India need strong leader who can handle the pressures of international cricket even overseas and is able to implement his strategies, and make players play at their
potential, rather than making excuses at the end of every lost match. A more professional and focused leader, and not one that is favorite of X mumbai cricketers and BCCI president, is what India cricket desperately needs. A 'warm' captain rather than 'cool' one is needed.

I personally think Dinesh Karthik should be given a chance now and Virat Kohli should be handed captaincy, if Indian cricket has to progress.