New Delhi: MS Dhoni’s Test captaincy has come under severe criticism from former skipper Sourav Ganguly, who described his leadership as “obnoxious” following India’s humiliating series defeat against New Zealand.
Ganguly, one of India’s most successful captains, said that if the 50-over World Cup was more than one year away, he would have called for Dhoni’s removal from captaincy.
“His (Dhoni’s) Test captaincy has been obnoxious. But changing captains now will unsettle the team. His place is not in doubt in Test cricket, but Dhoni needs to set the overseas record right,” Ganguly said.
“If the World Cup was not less than a year away, I would have agreed that Dhoni needed to be removed as captain,” Ganguly told a news channel.
India suffered their fourth successive Test series defeat abroad after their 0-1 loss to New Zealand in the two-match rubber which concluded on Tuesday. India have now lost 10 of their last 12 Tests abroad – the other two were drawn – a record that included two successive 0-4 whitewashes in England and Australia.
Dhoni’s reputation as India captain has been severely dented and his defensive tactics at crucial junctures first in South Africa and then in New Zealand have drawn flak from experts, although he continued to harp on the “positives”.
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.
Another former captain Rahul Dravid agreed with the perception that Dhoni was a defensive captain, saying he needed to take risks if he wanted to win Test matches abroad.
But Dravid added that Dhoni’s leadership in Tests must be assessed after the Test tours of England and Australia that preceded the World Cup Down Under in February-March next year.
“I’ve always seen this year of Indian cricket as these four big overseas tours, which is South Africa, New Zealand, England and Australia, with the World Cup next year in Australia. Let’s presume that Dhoni is going to be India’s one-day captain and take India into that World Cup. I think he’s earned the right to do that,” Dravid said on a cricket website on Tuesday.
“And I think he deserves the right, the chance to play out this year, and assess it at the end of the Australian series. End of that series, we’ll really know where Indian cricket stands and where Dhoni stands, both as a player and as a captain,” he added.
Meanwhile, former cricketer Mohinder Amarnath says the time has come to remove Dhoni from captaincy as his “defensive” approach has resulted in the country’s prolonged failure on foreign soil.
“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,” Amarnath told PTI Bhasha.
“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,” said the hero of India’s 1983 World Cup triumph.
Asked about his choice for future captain, he said Virat Kohli looked good to shoulder the responsibility.
Amarnath also lashed out at coach Duncan Fletcher, who has not delivered, he feels.
“I don’t understand what is the use of having him (Fletcher) if he is not delivering. Everyone is talking about the players, captain but nobody is raising questions on coach and support staff. I think Indian team needs an Indian coach,” he said. (PTI)