The Indian Panorama

Tag: M S Dhoni

  • BCCI to review T20 World Cup performance in new year

    BCCI to review T20 World Cup performance in new year

    The BCCI brass will review India’s underwhelming performance in the T20 World Cup with skipper Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid on January 1, according to BCCI sources.

    NCA chief VVS Laxman, who has been with the Indian team in Dravid’s absence, is also expected to be part of the meeting. The meeting in Mumbai is scheduled ahead of limited overs against Sri Lanka beginning on January 3.

    England had hammered India by 10 wickets in the World Cup semi-finals, extending their barren run in ICC events since 2013 when they won the Champions Trophy under M S Dhoni’s leadership. The last world title came at home in 2011. “Head coach Rahul Dravid and NCA head VVS Laxman are expected to analyse India’s performance with BCCI bosses. The roadmap going into 2023 World Cup is also expected to be discussed,” said the source. The selection panel led by Chetan Sharma were shown the door post the World Cup but a new panel is yet to be formed. The committee was sacked in November but it continues to track the ongoing Ranji Trophy and also picked the team for three T20s and ODIs against Sri Lanka.

    The Cricket Advisory Committee, which was formed earlier this month, met in Mumbai on Friday to shortlist the list of candidates for the selectors’ posts.         Source: PTI

  • ONCE THE LEADER, MS DHONI FEELS BATTING BLUES

    ONCE THE LEADER, MS DHONI FEELS BATTING BLUES

    Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been more in focus than his team Rising Pune Supergiant in this Indian Premier League. And that should be the case ahead of the clash against Gujarat Lions at the SCA Stadium on Friday too.

    Dhoni was stripped of captaincy by RPS and is struggling with the bat as he faces Gujarat Lions in the next match

    Nothing seems to be going right for the champion cricketer at the moment. While it all started with RPS owners replacing India’s greatest captain with Steven Smith for the 10thedition of the T20 tournament, the spotlight is on the Ranchi superstar’s poor run with the bat.

    One hoped with the burden of captaincy off his shoulders, a vintage Dhoni would take IPL by storm. However, that hasn’t been the case so far. With scores of 12 not out, 5 and 11 in his first three games, Dhoni, 35, seems nowhere close to his best. Although Dhoni has been active with field placements from behind the wicket, it’s his power-hitting that Smith would have banked on.

    In the first match against Mumbai Indians, the situation was tailor-made for Dhoni, with 13 runs required off the final over. The job was ultimately done by Smith, who hit two sixes to finish off the game, as Dhoni found it difficult to even connect.

    In Pune’s last match against Delhi Daredevils, which Smith missed due to an upset stomach, Dhoni was expected to take on more batting responsibility. The opportunity was lost again.

    It isn’t Dhoni’s form alone that is a concern. It has also a lot to do with building the right environment to bring the best out of the players.

    The build up to IPL 10 hasn’t been ideal for Dhoni. Controversy erupted when RPS owner Sanjiv Goenka declared that he was sacked as skipper of his team.

    After the emphatic win in the opener against Mumbai Indians, tweets by Goenka’s brother Harsh seemed to pit Dhoni against Smith, upsetting fans of the double World Cup-winning skipper.

    Dhoni’s wife Sakshi posted a photograph sporting a Chennai Super Kings helmet and jersey and came out in support of her beleaguered husband with a strong response to Harsh Goenka’s tweets.

    One major reason Chennai Super Kings under Dhoni enjoyed great IPL success, before it was suspended for two years, was because the skipper was a master finisher.

    It is often said write off a champion at your peril. With Dhoni’s finishing abilities on the wane, his task has become more challenging than ever at No 5. Pune could consider promoting Dhoni ahead of England allrounder Ben Stokes, who can still finish matches by batting at No 5.

    The dip in form in IPL 10 seems sudden. Before the league, Dhoni scored 330 runs in eight matches for Jharkhand in the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy.

     

  • DHONI, JHARKHAND TEAM RESCUED AS FIRE BREAKS OUT AT DELHI HOTEL; MATCH POSTPONED

    DHONI, JHARKHAND TEAM RESCUED AS FIRE BREAKS OUT AT DELHI HOTEL; MATCH POSTPONED

    NEW DELHI (TIP): The Jharkhand cricket team, including their skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, on March 17 (Friday) escaped unhurt after a fire broke out at a five star hotel in Dwarka here leading to postponement of the Vijay Hazare Trophy semifinal against Bengal.

    The match that was supposed to be held at the Airforce ground in Palam has been rescheduled at Feroz Shah Kotla on Saturday after match referee Sanjay Verma announced the postponement.

    Dhoni along with his teammates was having breakfast at the team hotel, ITC Welcome, when they were evacuated on a SOS basis. Around 540 guests were staying at the hotel, according to police sources.

    “Yes, it was scary as a fire broke out early in the morning. We were evacuated and brought to the ground,” Jharkhand coach Rajeev Kumar said.

    The match referee’s decision to postpone the game was taken as the kits of the team were at the hotel and there was no way that the match could have started.

    Both teams were at the ground but since the Jharkhand players were also mentally disturbed, the BCCI had to give them a day’s time to get into a proper frame of mind.

    “When we were having breakfast at the restaurant…suffocating smell of the smoke alarmed us. We ran for our lives,” a Jharkhand player told PTI.

    “A call was received around 6.30 AM about a fire breaking out at Welcome Hotel. Thirty fire tenders were rushed to the spot and the fire was doused by 9.45 AM. Cooling operations are on,” said a senior official from Delhi Fire Services.

    Police said that the fire broke out in a Reliance showroom. Further investigation is underway to ascertain the cause of the fire. Source: PTI

     

  • Msd’s Legacy As Captain Cemented

    Msd’s Legacy As Captain Cemented

    BIRMINGHAM (TIP): “Dhoni, captain cool” – the placard held by an Indian fan appropriately sums up the magic of India’s cricket captain. “I don’t turn up in the ground to achieve anything special as a captain,” Dhoni said after his team had defended a modest 129 to defeat England and win the Champions Trophy. These modest words may seem out of place for India’s most successful cricket captain in all formats of the game – Tests, ODIs and T20s. “For me winning the game is very important and that is of utmost importance for us as a team,” Dhoni said.

    For the 31-year-old Dhoni, winning the Champions Trophy completed a remarkable cycle of triumphs which started with the T20 World Cup in 2007. India also won the 2011 ODI World Cup under his leadership and the victory yesterday reaffirmed his status as India’s best-ever captain. No other captain in international cricket has won three major ICC trophies.

    The British media also doffed their hats at the “pragmatic, ineffably calm captain” and highlighted his leadership qualities which ultimately gave India a thrilling five-run victory in the rain-hit final. “India could hardly believe what was happening, though for MS Dhoni, their pragmatic, ineffably calm captain it was probably a normal day at the office. He had put the squeeze on England at the start and he has been round long enough to know that anything can happen in short-form cricket and often does,” the ‘Independent’ said. The Daily Telegraph described Dhoni’s decision to bowl the last two overs with spinners as a “masterstroke”. “… completely confounding tradition, the last two overs were entrusted by MS Dhoni to spinners.

    Spin has been one of the surprising successes of the shortest form of the game, and Dhoni’s choice was a master stroke,” the paper wrote. The Daily Mirror was also effusive in its praise of the Indian captain who “marshalled his field and his bowlers like an all-knowing general”. “India played much the smarter cricket and were brilliantly led by MS Dhoni who marshalled his field and his bowlers like an all-knowing general who just needed the merest crack to break England down,” the Daily Mirror said. The Guardian wrote: “The India captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, started to turn the screw, hounding the batsmen with close fielders, the ball spitting and the crowd ecstatic.” Dhoni was also praised by former Indian cricketers who said he has moulded the young team into a winning unit. “He (Dhoni) has got this ability of rising from the ashes.

    It is his temperament where he has treated those two imposters – fame and failure – in just the same manner. I think that is the reason why he is able to bounce back after a tough time,” batting great Sunil Gavaskar said. Ex-India skipper Gundappa Viswanath lauded Dhoni’s “cool and composed” approach. “Full marks to M S Dhoni. Now, he has all the world titles to his name. He is undoubtedly one of the best captains we have ever produced. There has been no change in his captaincy and he has been continuing in the same way with his cool and composed approach to the game and is taking up the challenge up front,” Vishwanath said.

    Another former skipper Ajit Wadekar rated Dhoni as India’s best-ever captain. “It was a superb win. Hats off to Dhoni, I think he is the best captain we have got. Despite not having Sachin (Tendulkar) Rahul (Dravid), Dhoni could get all the youngsters together and showed the team spirit within this unit. This looks like a complete team and Dhoni is probably the best captain India has ever had,” he said. Legendary off-spinner Erapalli Prasanna said Dhoni’s captaincy has been “brilliant”. “It’s a victory that definitely indicates India are best side in cricketing world. Dhoni’s captaincy has been brilliant,” he said. Under Dhoni’s captaincy, India played 47 Test matches out of which they won 24, lost 12 and 11 ended in draws. In 140 onedayers as captain, Dhoni led India to 82 victories, while losing 47. Three matches ended in tie and eight produced no results. In T20, his record has been slightly less impressive having won 20 matches and losing 19. One ended in a tie.

  • Ashwin’s gain is Harbhajan’s pain

    Ashwin’s gain is Harbhajan’s pain

    Mumbai (TIP): Rising off-spinner R. Ashwin on Friday replaced out-of-form senior tweaker Harbhajan Singh in the top bracket of BCCI’s list of central retainership contracts, while struggling pacer Ishant Sharma was also demoted from Grade A to B.

    Harbhajan and Ishant have spent the better part of this year out of the team struggling for form in whatever chances they have been handed.

    The 26-year-old Ashwin, on the other hand, has played eight Tests since making his debut in November last year, grabbing 49 wickets. In the recent home series against New Zealand, he had taken 18 wickets in two Tests.
    In the ODIs, he has scalped 56 wickets in 40 matches. The Chennai-bowler has 12 wickets from his 15 Twenty20 International appearances.

    The elite Grade A features nine players this year, three down from the last season, according to a press release issued by the BCCI.

    With the retired duo of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman out of the equation Ashwin was only new name in the top bracket, the players in which are paid an annual retainership of Rs 1 crore.

    The likes of veteran Sachin Tendulkar, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the struggling opening pair of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir and pace spearhead Zaheer Khan retained their Grade A contracts.

    The in-form Virat Kohli, middle-order batsman Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh completed the top category, all three retaining their contracts.

    In Grade B, the BCCI has offered contracts to eight players, three more than last season with batsman Rohit Sharma being the only one to have retained his contract.

    Pacer Irfan Pathan, who is on a comeback trail after quite some while in the wilderness, has been given a contract along with young players such as Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara and Umesh Yadav, all of whom have been elevated from Grade C.

    The players in Grade B are entitled an annual retainership of Rs 50 lakh.

    In the Grade C list, a demoted Ravindra Jadeja has replaced off-colour pacer S Sreesanth. All-rounder Yousuf Pathan, pacers L Balaji and Ashok Dinda have come in replacing the likes of Jaydev Unadkat.

    In all, the BCCI has offered contracts to 37 players, which is the same as last year.

    The list of BCCI contracted players:

    Grade A: Sachin Tendulkar, M S Dhoni, Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Virat Kohli, R Ashwin.

    Grade B: Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ojha, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Irfan Pathan, Umesh Yadav.

    Grade C: Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Vinay Kumar, Munaf Patel, Abhimanyu Mithun, Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Wriddhiman Saha, Parthiv Patel, Manoj Tiwary, S Badrinath, Piyush Chawla, Dinesh Karthik, Rahul Sharma, Varun Aaron, Abhinav Mukund, Ashok Dinda, Yusuf Pathan, Praveen Kumar, L Balaji.