Dhoni - My way or the highway

About 2 years ago, I had written an article on Dhoni's courage and his strange ways.

 Dhoni's strange ways

This article was written before India's 2011 world cup victory. Since then India has lost many series. The team's form has gone from bad to worse. And there is no end in sight.

Former players, selectors and cricket experts are asking for Dhoni's head but all we hear is some promises made by Dhoni. What is happening? Let us try to dissect the current state of affairs.

Is Dhoni still a good leader? I think so. He stands by his players and his decisions. He usually does not find fault with system.
Has his courage deserted him? No, but he has become autocratic and has started thinking that he is right and others are wrong.
Should there be a change in leadership? Maybe, selectors would know better but they should not be influenced by BCCI's managing committee. Maybe they can give a break to Dhoni for upcoming Australia series.
What is the solution? There are number of things that can be done but firstly selection should be left to selectors; Dhoni and/or BCCI's managing committee should have no role in it.
Are there any other reasons for recent defeats? I think coaching staff is not up to the par. Read an article which I wrote about a year ago  Can this be the reason for India's recent performances?

Read another article which highlights Dhoni's role. Undaunted despite defeat

As a fan I can only hope that India goes back to winning ways soon...

Dhoni's strange ways

Indian team captain MS Dhoni is on a path to become the most successful captain of India. Under his leadership, the team is winning matches and it has become number 1 ranked team in test matches. Although there will always be naysayers and doubters about the number 1 ranking but there is no denying that he is a good leader of people and that he leads from the front.

The media has, in fact, has already anointed him as Captain Courageous. And he has actually become very courageous or so it seems.

Consider this:

• During 2009 ICC T20 World Cup when media questioned the team unity after Sehwag's unfortunate injury, rather than clearing any doubts or misgivings, he took the whole team out to the ground for a photo shoot. He  just wanted to show that the team is united.
• During 2008 Hero Honda Cup one day series when selectors selected Irfan Pathan ahead of RP Singh for last 2 matches, there was a alleged leak from an unknown selector that Dhoni threatened to resign during the selection committee meeting. It was said that Dhoni preferred RP Singh. In response to these allegations Dhoni challenged the so called selector to come out into open and proclaimed  that, because of the selector's blunder, it will now be difficult to manage team unity.
• And recently in ongoing SA-India test series he wanted Kirstein to stay as India's coach even after the World Cup 2011.

Family may keep Kirsten from renewing contract - Dhoni

These are the kind of things no-one in Indian cricket team has done or can dare to do. But then we are talking about Captain Courageous. May his courage wins us more matches than create news headlines.