He was once regarded as a man with midas touch. He is yet to yet to lose a test match as a captain. India won 6 ODI series in a row under his captaincy. Every one praised him when India was playing well. But he is feeling the heat for the first time as the captain.
Critics are pointing at Dhoni for India's Champions Trophy exit. They say that he lost his confidence and his approach to game has not been good. India lost only two major tournaments after Dhoni has become the captain. India failed to reach semis in T20 World cup 2009 and Champions Trophy 2009. But the way India lost in Champions Trophy is a concern than the loss itself. Critics say thatDhoni's body language in these tournaments was not good. Even when the bowlers were struggling, Dhoni forgot to go and talk to them.
"I want players who, if I ask them to, will stand in front of a truck", Dhoni's words in his first series as a captain. Everyone started to think that this formula worked really well after India won T20 World Cup in South Africa. Everyone started to believe that India has a great future with the young cricketers who are ready to face any situation. But if we observe the recent games, most of the matches were not high-scoring. There was no aggressiveness in the players. Critics say that Dhoni's formulae don't work in the long run.
Dhoni is the number one ODI batsman. He is the ODI Player of the year. But his approach to batting does not prove that. There is a lot of difference between his approach 3 years back and his approach now. Instead of his aggressive and attacking presence, he builds his innings in singles. He can be a No.1 if he stays in the crease for 25 overs and scores 50 runs. But he has to loose a place in the hearts of the indian cricket fans. One can see Dhoni in almost every advertisement on TV. He needs to concentrate more on the game instead of other forms of revenue. There is this comment, on Cricinfo I think, that 'Dhoni and his team has been playing restless cricket. So, their first round exit in major tournaments gives them the much needed 'rest' and they can spend this time for advertisements'. I think there should be some restrictions on the advertisement policy of cricketers.
One has to blame the media and the fans for taking Dhoni's praise to high levels much beyond than he deserves. And the same fans now hate Dhoni. This is not the case with Dhoni. When one player is playing well, they consider him as god. When the same player fails, they start saying that he did not play well, so we lost the match, he needs to be sacked etc.. Its the fans and the media who need to change first.
Has dhoni lost his midas touch? If you consider the performance, is there no wicket-keeper in India who is better than Dhoni? Is it time for Dhoni to be sacked?
