Dhoni Made The Right Decision At The Right Time

#ShanuWritesHere
Author: Shanmukha Kotha

Dhoni stepped down as the captain of the Indian side in limited overs cricket. The news came as rather shock even after many speculations that his position has been under scanner since Kohli started winning Test series after series. He, himself decided to make way for the new captain and serve the team as a Keeper-Batsman. He will be available for the selection of Team India for the ODI and T20 International Series to be played against England that is about to start from Jan 15.

MS Dhoni is the most successful captain in the limited over cricket to be the only captain to win the all the silverware, with ICC World Twenty20 in 2007, the ICC World Cup in 2011 and the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013. He bid farewell to the long format of cricket in December 2014. He captained the most number of international matches with 331 games across three formats.

Dhoni's record as captain
Tests: 60 Matches, 27 Wins, 18 Losses, 15 Draws
ODIs: 199 Matches, 110 Wins, 74 Losses, 4 Ties, 11 No Results
T20Is: 72 Matches, 41 Wins, 28 Losses, 1 Tie, 2 No Results

Did Dhoni make the right decision?
MSD did it again what he does the best. Stunning the cricketing world and making decisions out of the blue. He left all the Indian fans awestruck by making the right decision at the right time. Dhoni is always known for his finishing and his clinical climax he could provide in the final overs. But who could forget his first century he scored at Vizag and his stunning 183 runs in Jaipur. Now he is relieved of pressures like going out for toss, addressing press meets, maintaining his cool on field in great pressure, taking responsibility for losses and accepting criticism. He can concentrate on his batting and bring back his fireworks.

The rise of Virat Kohli as one of the best Test Cricketer and Test Captain in the present generation, has raised a lot of discussions on his ability to lead the limited over cricket. There have been thoughts swirling around that it would be better for Dhoni to make way for Virat to lead the team in 2019 WC. Many thought it would be better to handle the mantle before the Champions Trophy, so that he can be ready along with his team for the big showdown in 2019. That would have been the idea in my mind of MS Dhoni when he made this decision.

The decision of Dhoni is not impulsive. He is 100% right and I'm sure he have put a lot of thought into it. His decision is for the greater good of the team and that proves his ingenuity yet again. It may have struck the fans with great shock and grief because of the heights he have taken the team under his leadership. But Kohli is the undoubtedly the future of Indian Cricket and today or a few years later, he is the one capable of maintaining the legacy of MS Dhoni. Then it would have been selfishness if Dhoni wanted to continue his career as the captain till his end days as cricketer. So he decided to serve the team as the Keeper-Batsman under the leadership of some other player which has been his position for the last 10 years. We salute for his unselfish behavior, his foresight and his love for the team & country.

Virat is the future Captain of Indian Cricket?
No doubt he is the future of Indian Cricket. No doubt he is the best batsman in the world right now in all formats of cricket. But it is his aggressive nature that had earned him high accolades as well as controversies. When he was handed over the Test captaincy we have seen a contended Kohli, with the same aggression but not showing it unnecessarily. It is that transformation that have cemented his position as the future captain of India. The mindset of Indian Team has changed drastically under the Cap of Virat in test cricket. Not just the winning streak of the team but the attitude of the players in the recent times. This present team has revived this generation's interest in test cricket. Kohli have passed on his aggression to the team and Team India looked a lot different under Kohli's captaincy than under Dhoni's leadership. Even Dhoni has accepted the fact that he have to learn a lot of things from Kohli. With such a great captain in Kohli, Dhoni's decision to think about his batting alone makes sense, both for himself and India cricket.

His role in Indian Team now?
Dhoni has been known for his aggressive batting style when he first entered international cricket. But as he started leading the Indian side, his batting style has been a lot calmer. Mainly his shift from position 4 to 6 has greatly effected his batting genius. But now he can get into his old shoes, and come back to bat at No.4 and serve the team with his bat. With Kohli at No.3 and Dhoni at No.4 it will surely be the toughest wall to break for opposition bowling attack. He is undoubtedly the best Wicket Keeper-Batsman in the world. His quickness behind the stumps cannot be matched by any other player. So, his role of Keeper-Batsman is not under a bigger threat in the limited edition cricket. Because the replacement for Dhoni is still unavailable even with by the likes of KL Rahul and Wridhiman Saha as both of them has to improve on their keeping and batting respectively. This step will allow him to pay more attention to his batting style and if he proves his capability then there won't be a bigger threat to his position in the team.

Will he continue till 2019 WC?
He surely can! Playing for the 2019 WC should be the last lap for his magnificent cricket journey. But the most evident thing about Dhoni is that he will never be a burden to the team. He will surely give his everything for the team as a batsman even if he is playing under someone's captaincy. No doubt his position will be under scrutiny mainly with the rise of young talents like KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant. Hopefully he will make his mark and continue to surprise us with his batting.

As a final word:
INDIA WILL MISS 'CAPTAIN' COOL BUT HE MADE THE RIGHT DECISION AT THE RIGHT TIME. HE STEPPED ASIDE BUT PLACED THE TEAM IN SAFE HANDS.