The skipper has done a good balancing act

Published : Jun 21, 2008 00:00 IST

Dhoni has the qualities to become as successful a captain as Ganguly but it will depend on how well he handles the bowlers.

Ever since the World T20 championship triumph in South Africa last year, Mahendra Singh Dhoni has had a dream run as captain and with India slated to play a fair share of one-dayers in the next 12 months, he will have a lot of opportunities to bag more trophies. His past success and that coupled with the lack of a serious challenger, Dhoni looks all set to lead the National side for the next three years at least, if not more.

This being the scenario, Dhoni will now have to build a formidable and well knit unit to take Team India to the top and retain it there. Dhoni is in a similar situation as Ganguly was when he took over the Indian team, as the onus is on him to nurture a bunch of youngsters to deliver the goods at the top level. However, having seen Dhoni operate in the last nine months, he gives the impression of one who thinks of crossing the bridge only when he gets there. This particular quality of not getting unduly worried has enabled him to retain his composure even under the tightest of situations. Now that he has succeeded in South Africa and Down Under, he has set a standard and it is in keeping up that standard he will face a few challenges.

He has come across as an independent and free spirited individual who likes to do things his own way. At the same time, he has not let his team-mates down in the wake of a loss which suggests that he prefers to pull up a player if need be in the confines of the dressing room. This has already earned him ardent fans in the team and some of the youngsters in the team have openly remarked that they will do anything for their charismatic captain. He does have the support of his team alright, but Dhoni will have to ensure that he garners support from the selectors as well. This has probably been one area where captains have sometimes failed in the past. Once he manages that, Dhoni will have a smooth sailing in terms of planning.

It will be interesting to see the kind of rapport Dhoni has with Gary Kirsten, the coach of the team. The Ganguly-Wright combination worked well and the likes of Sehwag, Yuvraj, Harbhajan and Zaheer came along well during their tenure. Dhoni and Kirsten have the opportunity to make Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Robin Uthappa, Ishant Sharma and Ojha into leading performers but that will depend on how well the captain and the coach get along.

Dhoni, being a wicketkeeper/batsman-cum-captain, will have very little time to switch off on the field and this might drain him at the end of the day. Yet, he can set an example as well to his boys in that he can impress upon them that there is no room for laxity on the field. Until now, the skipper has done a good balancing act but one must remember that a full time coach was not a part of the equation.

Dhoni has been instinctive in his decision making and has done well not to wear his heart on the sleeve when things were not looking good. He has managed to get things right on a few occasions in his tenure so far as captain but greater challenges lie ahead in the next 12 months.

There are quite a few major trophies to be played and the Champions Trophy scheduled to be played in India will add to the pressure. Dhoni may also be faced with the situation of easing out senior players in the Tests but he will be hoping that it does not happen in a hurry. His charisma might also prove to be a weakness as excessive media attention can sometimes become tricky. His off-the-cuff remarks have been highlighted in the past and this is one pitfall that he needs to avoid.

Dhoni has the qualities to become as successful a captain as Ganguly but it will depend on how well he handles the bowlers. The bowlers have been at the receiving end in the past as the team was lead by a batsman more often than not. But with Dhoni being a ’keeper, he will be in a better position to understand the mental make-up of the bowlers.

Moreover, with a tightly packed international programme, the bowlers need to be rotated as well to prevent them from getting jaded. Dhoni has been on the go in the last year and a half and it will be the same in the coming 12 months too. This means that Dhoni needs to keep himself in good shape mentally and physically.

After all, it is important that a captain is razor sharp mentally in order to make the right decisions. On his part, Dhoni will be hoping that his dream run continues for a while yet.

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