Should Dhoni still captain India?

[salman85]

Just something that hit me during the NZ tour.He's been captain for almost 7 years now if you start with the first T20 world cup, and 7 years is a LOT.

He is obviously an integral part of their side an will continue to be one for the next few years atleast.But is Dhoni the captain declining? And isnt it time for India to give Kohli the reigns permanently? Or should Dhoni still say on as captain for a few more years?

 

[NasserFan207]

Would like to see Kohli as captain eventually, but I think Dhoni still has something to give.

I don't think he's ever getting fired so it comes down to when Dhoni decides to step down himself, who knows when that will be.

 

[Daemon]

He's not a good test match captain from my limited understanding of watching him in that role. Conventional fields are conventional for a reason.

Suspect he has a major say in selections as well and he ****s them up regularly. What he has going for him is that he's a good leader, it might be too early for Kohli and he's still probably the best wicket keeping batsmen in the country.

 

[brockley]

Not till the match fixing inquiry clears his name.

 

[smash84]

Dhoni should definitely captain india in LO formats. He is a very good captain and player in it.

As for tests I am not sure he even deserves a place in the side let alone captaincy.

 

[Shri]

Shouldn't be captain in tests. Doing okay in ODIs. Actually hope India crash out of the WC in the first round next year and we don't win an away test until then. That would surely get him sacked from at least one format.

 

[Furball]

Burdening Kohli with the captaincy before he's properly established himself in the Test side doesn't strike me as a particularly smart idea.

 

[Jono]

As someone who has called for Dhoni to be sacked twice before as test captain, I say let him continue. If he had to go it was after the loss at home to England. But there were no genuine replacements since we dropped Gambhir and Kohli wasn't ready yet. Let Dhoni lead India through the England and Australia series which he's done before. Don't throw a new captain into that, unfair on them.

Dravid basically summed it up here: India news : Rahul Dravid: MS Dhoni needs to take risks to win overseas | Cricket News | New Zealand v India | ESPN Cricinfo

 

[smash84]

Chappell wants to contribute to the debate on CW

Ian Chappell: Time for MS Dhoni to go | Cricinfo Magazine | ESPN Cricinfo

 

[hendrix]

He should remain captain but he should have no say whatsoever in team selection. I'm not sure to what extent he does have a say in selection at the moment, but the way he talks about the teams selected it sounds like he has a tremendous influence.

He regularly screws it up. Sure, it's nice to have a good fielder like Jadeja, but you have to take 20 wickets. And no, Ishant Sharma isn't a pragmatic option because he bowls long spells. He bowls long spells like a club cricketer - he's dropped down to the 120s by his 5th over.

Just get the young guys in the team. It worked for the batting and it can work for the bowling too.

 

[smash84]

Just taking the test selection out of his hand won't automatically change the way he approaches tests so i don't see why he should stick around as test captain

 

[hendrix]

Just taking the test selection out of his hand won't automatically change the way he approaches tests so i don't see why he should stick around as test captain

there's nothing wrong with the way he approaches tests.

He set aggressive, attacking fields throughout both test matches and only changed things up once the bowlers were under the pump. I saw nothing wrong with his captaincy there.

 

[Blocky]

I think captaincy with Kohli would be a return to the old days of infighting, political agendas and a team that doesn't enjoy playing with each other.

Dhoni is a good collaborator and has managed some pretty big egos over time. Kohli will see himself as bigger than the team. I have no clue why anyone would want Kohli to be captain after the failings of players like Tendulkar in that slot.

 

[hendrix]

I think captaincy with Kohli would be a return to the old days of infighting, political agendas and a team that doesn't enjoy playing with each other.

Dhoni is a good collaborator and has managed some pretty big egos over time. Kohli will see himself as bigger than the team..

Ridiculous post. What basis do you have for saying that Kohli sees himself as bigger than the team?

And you don't think political agendas and infighting are still are major issue for India?

 

[Blocky]

Ridiculous post. What basis do you have for saying that Kohli sees himself as bigger than the team?

And you don't think political agendas and infighting are still are major issue for India?

His well touted ego, arrogance and attitude issues? God, do you even read about cricket before posting?

 

[hendrix]

His well touted ego, arrogance and attitude issues? God, do you even read about cricket before posting?

I'd ask you that exact question.

If you want to question the political agendas of Indian cricket then I don't know why you'd use it to question Virat Kohli as a captain option over Dhoni. The number of Chennai players inexplicably being picked under Dhoni has been a point of contention for a couple of years at least, and that's not even to mention the fact that he was captain of a team that's owned by the BCCI president, and which has been involved in spot fixing under said president's own son, also under Dhoni's captaincy. Note also that Dhoni also publicly defended the spot fixer, who's guilty charge has been subsequently proven.

Now personally I'll give the benefit of the doubt to Dhoni here, because I like him and I'd really hate for him to actually be involved in any of that stuff, but I can't believe that you're going to question the political agendas of a young player who's never had even a shadow of speculation in regards to any untoward activities while the current incumbent is facing heavy, intense media focus for those exact issues.

 

[Blocky]

Let's see.

Under Dhoni, India went from a fractured team of individual brilliance who were capable of winning at home and being inconsistent away from home into a unit that was credible away from home and rose to the top of the rankings. Players and coaches alike said that he plays in a very selfless way for his side and simply seeks to select guys that are either proven for him or guys that are putting big numbers in domestic. The criticism on Dhoni is that he has too much faith in a Sharma type of player - but then with Sharma, he knows what he'll get and can plan accordingly, Sharma also was the dominant Indian bowler in NZ.

The reason India are currently in a slide is pretty simple - they went from a team that had six world class batsmen, a credible seam bowling attack and a capable spin bowler to a side of guys who are seeking to prove themselves. You try lose Laxman, Sehwag ( form ), Dravid, Tendulkar, Gambhir ( form ), Harbhajan ( form ) and at the same time see the decline of Zaheer Khan. He's got a team of guys that aren't used to away conditions and haven't built records over 10 years of "combat"

As for Kohli, ask any Indian cricket fan about his attitude and his issues with other players in the team that don't cede to him and treat him like he's a God. Then go and read about the clashes and struggles he had in junior cricket with his team and coaching staff.

 

[Jono]

Just led his team to under 19 World Cup glory, no biggie.

 

[benchmark00]

Hey Jono,

I have to ask you something:

How about Kohli's attitude and his issues with other players in the team that don't cede to him and treat him like he's a God?

Regards,
Bench Mark Zero-Zero

 

[Contra]

Let's see.

Under Dhoni, India went from a fractured team of individual brilliance who were capable of winning at home and being inconsistent away from home into a unit that was credible away from home and rose to the top of the rankings. Players and coaches alike said that he plays in a very selfless way for his side and simply seeks to select guys that are either proven for him or guys that are putting big numbers in domestic. The criticism on Dhoni is that he has too much faith in a Sharma type of player - but then with Sharma, he knows what he'll get and can plan accordingly, Sharma also was the dominant Indian bowler in NZ.

The reason India are currently in a slide is pretty simple - they went from a team that had six world class batsmen, a credible seam bowling attack and a capable spin bowler to a side of guys who are seeking to prove themselves. You try lose Laxman, Sehwag ( form ), Dravid, Tendulkar, Gambhir ( form ), Harbhajan ( form ) and at the same time see the decline of Zaheer Khan. He's got a team of guys that aren't used to away conditions and haven't built records over 10 years of "combat"

As for Kohli, ask any Indian cricket fan about his attitude and his issues with other players in the team that don't cede to him and treat him like he's a God. Then go and read about the clashes and struggles he had in junior cricket with his team and coaching staff.

India are hardly on a slide, the slide happened when they lost 8-0 which included all those names you just mentioned.

India have lost 2/4 test matches, on other days it would have read 2-1 or even 3-1 in India's favour. The problem here is the unpredictability of our bowlers, and IMO the lack of balance in our bowling attack. At this point it's hard for Dhoni to defend or praise his bowlers because they've been hot and cold within the same test match, in one innings they blow away the opposition and then they let them off the hook with the next innings (or vice versa), there really isn't much Dhoni can do because he's probably just as confused as to how he hasn't won at least 2/4 of the tests played overseas recently as the average India fan is.

If you want to criticize Dhoni the captain then you can go back to those ENG/AUS tours, not the recently concluded ones.

As for the topic questions I feel he should get another shot at ENG/AUS, if he can win even one of those 2 series I'd be pretty content, however unlikely the chances are. Or at least India should continue competing the way they have so far. I'm sure Dhoni's gonna take a call on his future post 2015 WC in any case. Giving him this one year would be appropriate. I'm also a little worried that Kohli's form might fall if he becomes captain, I know he's tipped to be captain but the way he's playing atm I'd just let him worry about his game and nothing else.