Despite Windies win, many points to ponder
ODI SQUAD To ‘musthave’ MS Dhoni in playing XI impacts India’s team balance
Chief coach Ravi Shastri’s smile stretched from Mumbai to Thiruvananthapuram after India had clinched the ODI series, but if a stethoscope had been put to his chest (and I dare say skipper Virat Kohli’s too) on the eve of the fourth match, their heartbeats would have suggested distinct alarm and distress.
The five-match rubber then was deadlocked. The West Indies had tied the second game and won the third against expectations. Defeat in the fourth match would not have decided the series but would have prevented an India win, which would have been no less a disaster.
As it happened the West Indies, in the words of their coach Stuart Law, ran out of steam, and surrendered the last two matches meekly clearly lacking wherewithal in talent, but more importantly mental toughness.
Full credit to India for revving up the intensity to finish the year as they had started, with the massive 5-1 triumph against South Africa. A good team exhibits its best qualities under duress.
NOTHING TO PARTY
But I would caution against any strutting and gloating, for if one looks at the trajectory of performances this year, there hasn’t really been any improvement 2009 2011 2011-12 2013-14 2014-15 2017 2018-19 WI WI Ind Ind Ind WI Ind
since the series against South Africa.
If anything, the dither – however slight -- against West Indies at home shows there has been a slide of sorts. Remember, the ODI series against England was lost too. In the context of the World Cup less than eight months (and 15 matches away) this should perk up Kohli and Shastri to potential problems.
Chief among these is the lopsided batting. The bulk of runs came from Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Hardly surprising since they are two of the best in this format in the world. But the team can only get batting heft if the support cast contributes regularly.
In South Africa, the top order by and large showed good form. Apart from Kohli and Rohit, Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane made a fair number of runs, so the top four ensured India’s batting hardly struggled.
The challenge for top order batsmen when they’ve got a start – as many did in the recent series – is to close games, which most didn’t. This increases the pressure on Kohli and Rohit manifold. And the law of averages inevitably catches up with even the best.
Ambati Rayudu, chastened after he was dropped from the England tour after failing the yo-yo test, redeemed himself somewhat with a scintillating century at the Brabourne, prompting Kohli to say that number 4 slot was not a vexing issue any more.
A captain’s trust is paramount for a player, but Rayudu needs to score big consistently consistently to ensure against an upheaval. Ajinkya Rahane was supposed to have sealed the no.4 place for himself in South Africa, but now lies on the fringes, all within months.
The core concern, however, is the poor batting form of Mahen- dra Singh Dhoni, for it impacts not only the composition of the squad, but the balance of the playing XI.
As wicket-keeper, his credentials are unimpeachable. None of the others – his peers Parthiv or Dinesh Karthik nor youngsters like Pant or Ishan Kishan – measure up to Dhoni’s skills.
His experience is invaluable. I am not swayed by the ‘age factor’ that is frequently touted as criticism against him. He will be 38 next year, but that is no handicap.
The history of the World Cup is replete with examples of players of this seniority in age (Rohan Kanhai in 1975, Clive Lloyd 1983, Imran Khan 1992, Adam Gilchrist 2007, Sachin Tendulkar 2011) playing stellar roles for their teams.
However, Dhoni struggling to make runs necessitates a buffer in the batting, which in turn reduces bowling options. In any case, India’s tail is looking longer than before, with Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal and new wunderkind Khaleel Ahmed (if he makes the cut) with no pretensions to batting at all.
Dhoni’s omission from the T20 side is tell-tale that the 2019 World Cup will be his swansong. He is now freed up to focus his attention and energies on the premier tournament.
The best outcome of this would be if he can regain his batting rhythm and mojo asap to command a place in the World Cup, not depend on past memories and sentiment.