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After the painful defeat in the series in England, what can wretched fans do? If we were board officials, we could appoint new directors and send support staff on leave and thus try to gloss over the real problems in the team. But we are just fans, without such powers to ameliorate the sting of our humiliation. So, all we can do is criticise Mahendra Singh Dhoni, other batsmen, most of the bowlers, the fielders, Coach Duncan Fletcher, the selectors, the Indian Premier League, the commercialisation of Indian cricket, not to forget the pitch curators at Indian stadiums.
Calling for Dhoni’s sacking is a part of this cathartic process. It is not new, for, like the mythical Phoenix, Dhoni’s capabilities as a captain seem to die every so often, only to rise when you thought his demise as skipper was truly and permanently ratified. Many think that it was Dhoni’s shortcomings as a Test captain that brought about the 1-3 loss in England. Come to think of it, Dhoni’s defensive mindset – the reason being touted as the reason behind the Indian farce – should have saved the series for us, considering that India was on the defensive most of the hours on pitch.
When there is any discussion on captaincy, there is no escaping the fact that a certain Mike Brearley’s name will crop up. Every captain's record is weighed against the achievements of the grey-haired, professorial Brearley. The captain of the English team of the late 1970s, Brearley led his side in 31 Tests, winning 18 of them, drawing nine and losing just four matches. Dhoni has been at the helm of the Indian Test team now in 58 Tests, with 27 wins, 14 draws and 17 losses. But the Indian has won just six of 28 away matches, losing 14 of them.
Brearley’s best moment came when, as an avuncular 39 year old, he replaced Ian Botham at the top in 1981. The great English allrounder had almost self-destructed as captain, scoring a mere 276 runs at an average of 13.14 and capturing 35 wickets without a single 5-wicket haul in the 12 Tests he captained. After taking over a demoralised English team mid-series against Australia, which was leading 1-0 after Two tests, Brearley almost miraculously won the third Test at Headingley from a poor position. Wins also came in the fourth and fifth Tests for a 3-1 Ashes victory. But more importantly, Brearley talked Botham back into being the super player that he was. Two centuries and a clatter of wickets, including 3 fiver-fors, earned the burly allrounder the man of the series. It was brilliant captaincy and inspiring man management from Brearley.
And how did Brearley perform as a batsman? In the four Tests he played, Brearley opened in one Test, batted at number three in another and then at number five and six in two Tests. Despite his captain’s instincts at getting the best out of a player, he failed in all the positions he slot himself in, scoring just 141 runs at 17.6 an innings. In fact, this was almost par for the course, for in all the 31 Tests he captained, he had a tally of 1,102 runs at an average of 22.4.
The English selectors did not care a fig about Brearley’s batting. They wanted him only as a captain on the field. All other skippers in history have had to succeed in their primary duties as bowler, batsman or wicketkeepers alongside their responsibilities in marshalling the team. That is why perhaps Dhoni’s burden was more onerous in England. He was not only the captain and the wicketkeeper, but also a vital cog in the Indian batting order. And the pressure on him to succeed as a batsman when the top order was consistently collapsing around him made his multitasking even more stressful than at normal times.
If Dhoni did not have to worry about his tasks as a batsman or wicketkeeper, would his less-burdened mind have come up with more winning strategies? We do not know. In one-dayers, where Indian batsmen have been untrammelled, Dhoni has an excellent record as captain. But we do know that, like Ian Botham in the 1981 English team, we had a world beater in the 2014 Indian Test team in England. His name was Virat Kohli. And in a series where we were outbatted, Kohli’s non-performance was telling. Unlike Brearley, Dhoni was unable to inspire Kohli, or anyone else, into battling back to victory. This is where Dhoni as captain could be faulted.
The author is an associate editor at Business Standard,
and, like all Indians, thinks he is an expert on cricket
and, like all Indians, thinks he is an expert on cricket
