When a tie seems like a win...
The moment I read that Dhoni is going to captain the Indian team against Afghanistan, my gut told me we are going to lose this match. This was before I read the team changes or rationally thought about how good Afghanistan has been during the tournament. There was a bit of superstition involved too. It was Dhoni’s 200th ODI as a captain and I had a feeling he is not going to get a fairy tale end. I don’t think Dhoni himself believes in fairy tales. And I truly believe this is his last match as an international captain.
The fact is the team has moved on and while Dhoni still might be seen guiding the team often, it is no longer his team. And Dhoni, more than most other captains, needs his team! Dhoni’s team is built on mutual trust. He hand picks his individual players and invests in them. Once you have won his trust and completely (sometimes even blindly) trust him, you are set for a long innings. Kohli’s team is built on performance. You need to prove yourself time and again to be assured a place in the playing eleven. There are of course favorites and rejects in each team. (Rohit Sharma is a common favorite. And poor Rahane is out of favor with both of them!)
Both are individualistic captains but their ways are different. Dhoni takes the team forward by literally holding everybody’s hand whereas Kohli, being a far superior batsman, simply does it on the might of his individual performance, most of the time. Dhoni believes in the process and if the process is followed, the results are immaterial for him. For Kohli, success is the goal. And that is reflected in his team selection. Since Kohli has become the captain, the instances of players playing with injuries have been alarmingly on the rise. On paper it might look like the same team, but the dressing room dynamics have definitely changed.
Dhoni is my forever captain but Kohli is shaping up to be a good captain as well. And it is important that Kohli gets his team (and coach!) to make his own mistakes, learn from them and create his own legacy...
What Dhoni did on Wednesday was step into shoes that were no longer his size. (They were actually a size, twice removed!) So when Dhoni asks Kuldeep “Bowling karega ya bowler change karein”? instead of getting a sheepish grin from the bowler there was evident displeasure. And hence when the game was tied, I celebrated a personal victory! It may not have been a fairy tale end, but then again who believes in fairy tales?
The fact is the team has moved on and while Dhoni still might be seen guiding the team often, it is no longer his team. And Dhoni, more than most other captains, needs his team! Dhoni’s team is built on mutual trust. He hand picks his individual players and invests in them. Once you have won his trust and completely (sometimes even blindly) trust him, you are set for a long innings. Kohli’s team is built on performance. You need to prove yourself time and again to be assured a place in the playing eleven. There are of course favorites and rejects in each team. (Rohit Sharma is a common favorite. And poor Rahane is out of favor with both of them!)
Both are individualistic captains but their ways are different. Dhoni takes the team forward by literally holding everybody’s hand whereas Kohli, being a far superior batsman, simply does it on the might of his individual performance, most of the time. Dhoni believes in the process and if the process is followed, the results are immaterial for him. For Kohli, success is the goal. And that is reflected in his team selection. Since Kohli has become the captain, the instances of players playing with injuries have been alarmingly on the rise. On paper it might look like the same team, but the dressing room dynamics have definitely changed.
Dhoni is my forever captain but Kohli is shaping up to be a good captain as well. And it is important that Kohli gets his team (and coach!) to make his own mistakes, learn from them and create his own legacy...
What Dhoni did on Wednesday was step into shoes that were no longer his size. (They were actually a size, twice removed!) So when Dhoni asks Kuldeep “Bowling karega ya bowler change karein”? instead of getting a sheepish grin from the bowler there was evident displeasure. And hence when the game was tied, I celebrated a personal victory! It may not have been a fairy tale end, but then again who believes in fairy tales?
posted by Ila @ 6:17 AM
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