India team without MS Dhoni is just like a knife without sharpness

There was lot of anticipation when Indian team went to Bangladesh for their cricketing stint in the recently concluded Asia Cup. The most happening debate was the leadership skills of Virat Kohli in the absence of MS Dhoni. It has to be note that he was the lone batsman that has shown the temperament of scoring big runs in tours of South Africa and New Zealand. Now that the dismal tours have ended it was the right moment to see whether he can showcase his talent as a captain in the Asian tournament. Lots of new players were there in the set up but the absence of MS Dhoni made a major void to fill. With newcomers coming into the team at the expense of experienced players like Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yousuf Pathan it was bad news for the Indian team from the start. But it also gave seasoned campaigners like Dinesh Karthik to make their presence felt before the world cup to be played in New Zealand, Australia.

With two of the five cricketing nations being “minnows”; it was apt for the Indian fans to hope for a win against either Sri Lanka or arch-rivals Pakistan. Lot of things were said about the leadership qualities of Virat Kohli. There is no looking back at Virat Kohli, the batsman. We all know he is the next best thing that has happened in the cricketing fraternity after the retirement of Sachin Tendulkar. He has even been compared to the great Vivian Richards; but his leadership skills were put to laser sword in this tournament. Virat Kohli’s captainship skills are good but can be improved. But he has shown glimpses of turning into a great leader in the two matches that were played against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. It is a completely different matter that he was not able to convert the close matches into victories. But if we look at the changed fielding restrictions after the year 2012 to defend the scores of 264& 245;then to take the opponents to the 50^th over was something to be seen. There were couple of close calls; but in the end the bottom-line is India lost.

But the question is how can Indian team consider this tournament as inconsequential when teams like Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and to an extent Afghanistan are looking at this tournament as a big opportunity to acclimatize in Bangladesh conditions. If MS Dhoni would have been there the scenario would have been a lot better. We all know MS Dhoni is recognized as a world-class finisher in the cricketing fraternity. Some of the matches showed how dearly Indian team missed his services. There were times when the score would have been up by 20-30 runs by his mere presence. Furthermore; there is no question that if he would have been there it would have been a great chance to get much needed match practice before the World T20 to be held in the same country. The advantage with Indian team is that BCCI has all the cards in the meetings with ICC. BCCI gives all the advantage to the Indian team by providing them an opportunity to fare better of their opponents in the same location where World T20 is going to be held.  Now if MS Dhoni decides to rest in this situation it has to be said that the end purpose of participating in this event is foregone. We all know MS Dhoni can turn a match at its head; if he is given an opportunity with the help of his much wanted unorthodox helicopter shot. His leadership skills are also something which India missed in the concluded Asia Cup.

One more thing that was learnt was the fact that Indian bench strength is very weak. These cricketers do not have the passion to succeed at international level. MS Dhoni has at least been able to withhold the opponents in sub-continent conditions. After the disappointing tours of South Africa and New Zealand; it was opportune time for the Indian team to look good. Even if it was in the sub-continent conditions; these are the same conditions where Rohit Sharma showed his prowess by scoring double century against West Indies. With the likes of Yuvraj Singh andSuresh Rainato be a part of World T20; it would be another run feast for Indian cricket team. That is the least an Indian cricket fan can expect. MS Dhoni is one of the coolest captains that we have seen for a long time and hoping against hope the one thing that we are expecting is to turn the tides towards the Indian side in this mega event.

These statistics do not show the importance of MS Dhoni as a finisher. He usually comes at the fag-end of the innings and elegantly finishes off the game with style.

Batting Performance Analysis

	Matches	Innings	N.O.	Runs	HS	Avg.	S/R	100s	50s	4s	6s	Ct
ODI	243	215	64	8,046	183	53.28	89.22	9	54	625	-	224
Tests	82	129	15	4,391	224	38.52	59.85	6	28	475	-	220
Twenty20	43	40	16	772	48	32.17	114.88	-	-	53	-	22
IPL	96	84	25	2244	70	38.03	141.22	-	13	169	89	66

Let me rest my case by saying that Indians had a better chance of winning or at least being in the finals of Asia Cup let alone by his batting prowess. In his leadership; India has won two major world tournaments World T20 in the year 2007 and then World Cup in the year 2011. Let us hope that this time around with his batting skills and leadership prowess; he can turn it around to bring the World T20 this year and World Cup the next year.