The Curious case of Mahendra Singh Dhoni
How good is Dhoni as an ODI batsman? ICC say he is the world's best currently. And, Gavaskar has gone a step ahead in saying he is on his way to become an all-time great in ODIs (on one of the reputed national news channels in India). What more, he compared Dhoni's latest innings of 124 in Nagpur to Kapil Dev's 175 not out against Zimbabwe in the famous 1983 World Cup(http://www.cricinfo.com/wc1983/engine/match/65083.html). Wow, that is something! This is what ONE innings can do in Indian cricket. For someone of Sunny's stature, the comparison is appalling to say the least. This is a normal money spinning bi-lateral series, and that, a World Cup on a big stage. India were a disastrous 17/5 then on a typical English wicket, and here a slightly dicey 97/3 on a batting beauty in Nagpur. Putting aside the meaningless comparison, the word "great" is so easily used in Indian sport. Every channel now discusses whether Dhoni is already a great or not. Ridiculous! Even Ricky Ponting's 140 in the 2003 World Cup final against a decent, in-form Indian bowling attack wouldn't have created this hoopla in Australia. Come on, give our players a break. Lot of hype ruins one's career. I think Rohit Sharma is already a victim of this, and we have seen many players fade away. Having said this, there is no question that Dhoni played a fantastic innings, and I can say this was his best ODI knock in more than a year. But, a great? Please, judge him towards the end of his career.
Now, coming to ICC rankings. Rankings and Statistics tell you a lot, but not everything. No ranking is perfect, and the best way to look at them is, say a top 20 in general, but not in any particular order. At the moment, Hussey is above Ponting, Chanderpaul is above Gayle. Any day, any moment, Ponting and Gayle are better ODI batsmen. Similarly, Dhoni is above Sachin, Sehwag and Yuvraj, and by a large margin, but it is obvious who the best batsmen are. Lot of things do matter here. Players missing out matches, players not having enough unbeaten innings, players not getting enough chances up the order, and what not.
The stats, the undisputable in this case. Averaging 50+ over a span of 5 seasons, in about 150 matches, at a strike rate of 90 is just phenomenal. How does/did he manage that? I say "manage" because players like this(at least my first impression of him was a destructive batsman) do not usually have this kind of stats. Be it Gilchrist(although I hate to compare Dhoni with Gilly, like many others), who at a similar stage in his career averaged about 35 which is also his career average. Or even a Sehwag, for that matter who averages mid thirties. Dhoni is not the same as he was under Ganguly or Dravid. Now, he tends to play the nudger more often than the destroyer (last innings being an exception where he paced his innings beautifully). At many times, be it 90/4 or 190/2, he still preferred a grafty innings over a destructive one, strangely. Honestly, we do not need that. We have enough "proper" batsmen who can play responsibly and bat through. Again, I say "proper" because Dhoni is not of the conventional mould. Neither he has class nor does he have flair. But, he has been damn effective, so far.
He is one of a kind. I doubt if Dhoni's knocks would be part of great batting archives for purists. And, you would also not see a coach teaching a youngster the helicopter shot (a forehand wristy flick to a ball in yorker length) that MSD plays.
But, at the end of the day what matters is his overall impact on Indian cricket (captaincy being Dhoni's biggest asset) which is immense.
Now, coming to ICC rankings. Rankings and Statistics tell you a lot, but not everything. No ranking is perfect, and the best way to look at them is, say a top 20 in general, but not in any particular order. At the moment, Hussey is above Ponting, Chanderpaul is above Gayle. Any day, any moment, Ponting and Gayle are better ODI batsmen. Similarly, Dhoni is above Sachin, Sehwag and Yuvraj, and by a large margin, but it is obvious who the best batsmen are. Lot of things do matter here. Players missing out matches, players not having enough unbeaten innings, players not getting enough chances up the order, and what not.
The stats, the undisputable in this case. Averaging 50+ over a span of 5 seasons, in about 150 matches, at a strike rate of 90 is just phenomenal. How does/did he manage that? I say "manage" because players like this(at least my first impression of him was a destructive batsman) do not usually have this kind of stats. Be it Gilchrist(although I hate to compare Dhoni with Gilly, like many others), who at a similar stage in his career averaged about 35 which is also his career average. Or even a Sehwag, for that matter who averages mid thirties. Dhoni is not the same as he was under Ganguly or Dravid. Now, he tends to play the nudger more often than the destroyer (last innings being an exception where he paced his innings beautifully). At many times, be it 90/4 or 190/2, he still preferred a grafty innings over a destructive one, strangely. Honestly, we do not need that. We have enough "proper" batsmen who can play responsibly and bat through. Again, I say "proper" because Dhoni is not of the conventional mould. Neither he has class nor does he have flair. But, he has been damn effective, so far.
He is one of a kind. I doubt if Dhoni's knocks would be part of great batting archives for purists. And, you would also not see a coach teaching a youngster the helicopter shot (a forehand wristy flick to a ball in yorker length) that MSD plays.
But, at the end of the day what matters is his overall impact on Indian cricket (captaincy being Dhoni's biggest asset) which is immense.
posted by Sreekar at
11:08 PM
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