With no worthy replacement, these are the checks and balance to say that MS Dhoni is the keeper of India’s faith.
Throughout his fabled captaincy career, Dhoni has appraised many a cricketer of varying reputation. Sometimes openly in press conferences, at other times privately during selection meetings, but always brutally impersonally. His sharp, uncluttered mind cut the noise and saw things as they were. If he deemed Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir-nine months after they had won him the 2011 World Cup-were conceding 20-30 runs in the field, he would say so, coldly cutting close to the bone. He would figure out pretty soon that Ajinkya Rahane, for all his promise and overseas batting record, wasn’t cut out for a middle-order role in limited-overs cricket.
Time is a great leveller, however, and the old Dhoni is not the Dhoni of old. There’s a tangible decline in his contributions with bat, and the question he once asked of others is begging to be asked of him now. But the one whose decision matters, Virat Kohli, remains convinced he needs Dhoni for the 2019 World Cup in England. The incumbent India skipper Kohli, as tough and demanding as he is, often betrays the impression of being emotionally invested in his picks. His predecessor, notwithstanding murmurs of a bias towards a few Chennai Super Kings players, was detached. It makes you wonder how Dhoni would’ve audited his recent performances. To go back to the movie, would Dhoni 2018 fit in Dhoni 2011’s team?
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