Post captaincy, Dhoni’s skills will bekeytohisvalue
EXPERT OPINION Former India skipper is cautiously optimistic over change of guard
CHANDIGARH: While he has done no wrong as Test captain so far, former India captain Kapil Dev feels Virat Kohli’s real test starts now.
“I’m a great Virat fan but I fear he might feel overburdened now,” Kapil told HT, referring to Kohli becoming ODI and T20 skipper after MS Dhoni stepped down, adding, “Virat needs a good start in the series (against England) as a batsman and in terms of results, and pray things fall in place. I don’t want him to feel the burden in limited overs because his captaincy in Tests is more important to me.”
Kohli has been aggressive and successful as Test captain, 14 wins in a two-year stint, Kapil, however, feels he is still learning. “Virat is an emotional cricketer and while that has been his strength as a player, Test captaincy has allowed him to mature and handle different situations accordingly. Limited overs will be challenging and with superman-like expectations, he definitely will need time to settle down. We all need to give him that,” said Kapil.
Kapil says Kohli, who has been winning in Tests, has MUMBAI: The way an entire stadium filled up on Tuesday only to watch MS Dhoni captain a side for the last time showed he will always occupy a special place in the hearts of cricket lovers.
The market forces however are more ruthless. The experts in the ad-world are divided over the impact on Dhoni’s brand value but unanimous that he would have to reinvent himself from a leader to a team member now. Harish Bijoor, Chief Executive Officer of brand and business strategy firm Harish Bijoor Consults Inc says it’s a life cycle.
“The brand value of sporting icons as well as Bollywood stars goes through different stages. First they are on top, then middle before hitting the bottom. The brand status has changed for Dhoni now from the leader of the team to a member of the team.”
“It is inevitable that when there is sunrise, there is a sunset. The brand estimation goes down as well. It’s all about status, position and who is the leader of the team. The same offers will gradually go to (captain) Virat Kohli, the right to first refusal will be with Kohli (from now on) because the Indians typically believe more in who is the captain than become better as captain. “Look at how he availed of DRS in the first Test. He was charged up and almost restless and would take the call from wherever he was fielding. But then he realised his mistake. By the time the last Test was played, he was not relying just on bowlers, he would go to specific fielders or the wicketkeeper for suggestions. He adapted well and that showed his maturity.
He will lose a few games too and that will be his big- team player,” said Bijoor.
But advertising guru Piyush Pandey is confident Dhoni’s iconic status will keep him marketable. “He comes from a humble background and then made it so big, he is a symbol of hope and aspirations for the people of India, I don’t think it (stepping down from captaincy) is going to matter so much. He is a hero for the people of India,” said Pandey.
“He is lot more than just performances. He is an all-round package and his brand is not based on his being captain.”
Another stakeholder who would be apprehensive is the IPL franchise owners of Dhoni. For them, a current India captain is easier to market.
But ad-maker Alyque Padamsee dismisses such doubts, saying Gautam Gambhir and Sachin Tendulkar are examples of candidates who were not India captains but were bankable captains with their franchises. gest challenge --- how quickly to get out of that situation. The entire country has hopes from him,” he said.
Kapil felt Dhoni had done a good job but saw the writing on the wall. “I wasn’t happy with the way Dhoni quit Test cricket, rather unexpectedly in the middle of an away series, this time he was dead right. To my mind, he is one of India’s best captains and he passed the baton to Virat, giving him time to look at Champions Trophy and prepare for the 2019 World Cup.”
While Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh have expressed their desire to play till the
World Cup, Kapil felt it was not going to be easy. “Nobody can doubt the talent Dhoni and Yuvraj have, but when you are 34-35, talent alone doesn’t help. So many things have to be looked at --- fitness, motivation and above all runs.
He passed the baton to Virat, giving him time to look at Champions Trophy and then prepare for the 2019 World Cup. LEGENDARY ADMAKER ALYQUE PADAMSEE SAYS, “CAPTAINCY HAS VERY LITTLE TO DO WITH HIS BRAND VALUE. IT ALL DEPENDS ON HIS PLAYING SKILLS”.
Nobody on earth can doubt the talent Dhoni and Yuvraj have but when you are 3435 talent alone doesn’t help.
They will obviously have Virat’s confidence, but performances will count more than anything. If Dhoni and Yuvraj do well at No 4 and 5 in this series, India will stand a better chance of defending the Champions Trophy.”
Kapil refused to be drawn into the Ravi Shastri-Sourav Ganguly debate. “It is Ravi’s call, whoever he thinks is a great captain in his mind, but if you ask me, I would rate Sunil Gavaskar above many other Indian captains. Sunny didn’t have the resources in those times so he didn’t win much but suppose he had the same players as say Dhoni or Dada (Ganguly), he would have also won a lot. It is the team that makes you a good or bad captain though smart leaders know how to make best use of resources at their disposal.”