Retirement from captaincy, not a piece of cake

After the disastrous series against New Zealand where India failed to register a single win, there is wide-spread speculation about complacency among the players and the defensiveness of Captain M.S Dhoni. S. Dinakar in a very strong analysis of the series in The Hindu said that when Dhoni did not send out a strong message to the team, he was spreading complacency. Along with this, former Australian skipper Ian Chappell in an article in ESPNCricinfo wrote that he wanted ‘defensive Dhoni to be replaced by aggressive Kohli.’

All said and done, it is really easy for people to say ‘change the captain,’ or ‘Dhoni’s fire is gone.’ It is not as simple as deciding on which vegetable to cook for the day. It is a decision which will change the entire future of team India. It is not a decision that is taken based on the results of a series.

When it was clear that Rahul Dravid was going to retire in a year’s time, the gradual change started and Dhoni was made to captain all the matches in which Dravid did not play. He slowly got into the groove and learnt the complex art of captaincy. And when the time was right and Dravid announced his ODI retirement, Dhoni took over. There was no confusion or criticism. He had learnt the tricks of the trade and was ready to replace The Wall of Indian cricket in terms of captaincy.

With reference to tests, Dhoni took in the reigns much later when Anil Kumble decided it was time for him to step down. This came almost a year after he had been captaining the ODI side and it came naturally to him. Though it is two different formats, the change and the acclimatization were very gradual.

For all the people out there who want to see a drastic change, pause and think. Dhoni is the man who brought consistency in the team. He is the man who stayed cool and taught the boys the small things. If it is time for him to step down, I think the person who is going to take over needs to learn the art of captaincy from him, slowly, over a period of time. When this huge lesson is over and when Dhoni thinks it is the right time, that is when there should happen the change.

No matter what is said and done, this is the man who brought home innumerable number of cups including the ODI World Cup in 2011 and the T20 World Cup in 2007.