The most successful Indian captain MS Dhoni is seeing a downfall in his career since the world cup triumph in 2011. Started with English tour in 2011, India has faced many setbacks in the process as they went through transition process to replace some of the greatest legends of Indian cricket.
Dhoni himself seen a decline both in his form and his tactics as a captain as many described him as a defensive captain during the during the tour to Down Under back in 2011. The Indian dominance was taken another setback when England managed to win a test series in India. Dhoni who was dubbed as the greatest finisher soon started losing his wicket in an attempt to win the game for the nation, the team and the captain has seen his all during the tough phase.
The player has seen a new setback recently when he was unable to finish the game against Zimbabwe in the first T20I despite getting settled after taking some time in the middle. Here we look at 5 qualities that are diminishing in MS Dhoni in the past few years.
5. Trust in his reliable bowlers
MS Dhoni has always backed up his reliable bowlers over the years who has earned him a lot of victories. From Ishant Sharma to Shami, he has always backed his bowlers but recently he is not able to put his trust on some of his bpwlers like Jadeja and Ashwin despite picking up them into the team. MS Dhoni who used Ashwin as his primary weapon over the years has now been a part-time bowler as he often ends up not bowling his full quota.
4. Stubborn captaincy
One of the major setbacks in his captaincy was his inability to bring back in-form players who deserved a chance in the team. Despite Yuvraj Singh being in top form back in 2015 ahead of World Cup, he was not picked. Suresh Raina who was in awful form in T20 World Cup was not replaced by an in-form Manish Pandey who could have made a difference with the bat. Recently, Irfan Pathan was not given enough chances to prove himself while playing for RPSG in IPL. MS Dhoni who has always backed in-form players in the past is unable to do the same in the recent years which could be one of the reasons for his decline.
3. Unable to cope up with pressure situations
Indian fans used to be tension free when MS Dhoni was at crease even when India needed 100 runs in last 10 overs as they used to have the confidence in MS Dhoni’s ability to cope up with the pressure and deliver. But the Indian skipper is getting succumbed to the pressure situations of late which has been impacting Team India in the last few years.
2. Calmness
One of the main attributes of MS Dhoni which has earned plaudits from all around the world is his calmness even in the most nervy situation. But MS Dhoni has lost his calmness in the recent years as he was being out-thought by the opposition batsman and also the player is unable to maintain his composure with the bat which has become quite regular during the past few years.
1. Finishing
Considering as the world’s best finisher, MS Dhoni has been failing in the role for a considerable time now. Once in a while, he shows his ability against spinners to finish but the opposition bowlers are getting the better of the player.
MS Dhoni’s lack of form is not only affecting him as a player as it is doing no good for him as a player and captain which in turn affecting Team India’s results. India has not won a ODI series in almost two years before the triumph in Zimbabwe but has seen major setbacks in the last 2-3 years.