Sport | Cricket
Is Dhoni riding on his luck?
Is Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India's finest captain or is he riding on his luck? So far whatever move he has made has yielded results.
- By K.R. Nayar, Senior Reporter
- Published: 23:30 November 21, 2008
- Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has enjoyed a fantastic reign so far. At times it seems every decision he makes, from bowling changes to field placings, turns to gold.
- Image Credit: AP
Dubai: Is Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India's finest captain or is he riding on his luck? So far whatever move he has made has yielded results.
His bowling changes often ensure a breakthrough and his field placing bring him the required results.
Are all these moves based on intelligence or sheer intuition?
During the Fortune Cup in Abu Dhabi, former Pakistan captain Younis Khan, applauded his fearless approach to the game but said there was a more important factor in his success.
He said: "Dhoni is undoubtedly aggressive; but the main factor is that he is lucky. I would like to see how he fares and handles the pressure when his luck runs out.
"That will be his real test. He has been very lucky so far in everything he has done.
"In cricket, one also has to be prepared to face tough situations when luck fails to smile on a player."
Indeed, there have been quite a few instances when lady luck has favoured him.
During the Delhi Test match against Australia, injury forced Anil Kumble to leave the field and Dhoni immediately introduced a non-regular bowler in Virender Sehwag who went on to pick five wickets.
And who can forget the last over of the Twenty20 World Cup final when he handed the ball to little-known bowler Joginder Sharma who took the winning wicket?
Similarly, in the Indore one-day international against England, he introduced Yuvraj Singh and he took four wickets.
Former Indian wicketkeeper Syed Kirmani believes that wicketkeepers make good captains, but added: "To be a good captain one has to be lucky and Dhoni has it in plenty."
Australian skipper Ricky Ponting attributes India's victory in the inaugural Twenty20 to luck.
In his captain's diary after India won the Twenty20, he wrote: "There is so much luck involved in this shortened form of the game, it's not always going to be the best team that wins."
Australians have been world beaters for long, but Dhoni has repeatedly led India to victory over them.
If India's victory margin had been a slender one, then one could have accepted the argument that luck played a major role.
In Sunil Gavaskar's evaluation of Dhoni's captaincy, he said that India have been winning under him because of his qualities.
Gavaskar said Dhoni's talents were similar to Kapil Dev when India won the World Cup in 1983.
He said: "Dhoni makes all the difference with his field placing, bowling changes and excellent wicketkeeping. He also delivers with the bat through a quick knock."
Taking risks
One cannot deny the fact that Dhoni is a daring captain too.
He takes risks with little hesitance and that fearless approach has rubbed off on his players too.
They in turn are ready to try out their latent skills. That could have been one of the major factors that contributed to him being able to mould a young team into a winning combination for the Twenty20 World Cup.
Coupled with that is his ability to get the senior players to contribute to the team's success as well.
Gestures like carrying Anil Kumble on his shoulders off the field in his last Test at Delhi as well as asking Sourav Ganguly to lead the team towards the closing stages of the Nagpur Test will go a long way to inspiring youngsters.
Besides playing intelligent cricket, Dhoni does not succumb to pressure from Indian cricket officials and had no second thoughts when he took a break before the Sri Lankan series.
Maybe it is a combination of confidence, aggression and the ability to get the best out of the players, topped with a slice of luck that has made Dhoni a successful captain.
Fortune favours the brave, after all.
Gavaskar has compared Dhoni abilities as captain to those of World Cup winning skipper Kapil Dev.
Had Dhoni been riding his luck so far? Do you think he is going to be the best Indian captain in both forms of the game?
Your comments
I believe that Dhoni is successful because he has faith in his players and confidence in his abilities and the abilities of his team.
Mustafa Yousuf
Ajman,UAE
Posted: November 22, 2008, 11:53
Dhoni is always going to be the best Indian Cricket captain.
Virendra Bhatkar
Dubai,UAE
Posted: November 22, 2008, 10:35
Dhoni has all the great abilities he needs to lead the team!I wish him luck.
Devi Prasad
Dubai,UAE
Posted: November 22, 2008, 10:34
There is no doubt that Dhoni is a good player
Sujit Ravindran
Dubai,UAE
Posted: November 22, 2008, 10:30
I generally belive that Dhoni is riding loads and loads of luck but he has also got some flair for captaincy.
Mate
London,UK
Posted: November 22, 2008, 09:35
I don't think that the victories of the Indian team is only because of Dhoni's luck. We need to look at the performance of players.
Fazal
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: November 22, 2008, 08:54
I don't think Dhoni is the finest captain but his success comes from good luck
Mizamur Rahman
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: November 22, 2008, 08:42
I think Dhoni is overall the best captain in India.
Praveen Uppala
Hyderabad,India
Posted: November 22, 2008, 08:33
Dhoni is just riding on luck and he is not the best captain for india.
Satya
Hyderabad,india
Posted: November 22, 2008, 08:25
I just believe in: "The more I work hard ,the more luck I seem to have".
Mini
Delhi,India
Posted: November 22, 2008, 07:51
Dhoni is a brilliant captain. Yes, he is lucky but his brilliance shows in most of his games.
Raju V Poulose
Dubai,UAE
Posted: November 22, 2008, 03:30
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