New Delhi, Kolkata: Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s job as India’s limited-overs captain is safe despite the team’s third successive one-day series defeat, the country’s cricket board (BCCI) said on Monday.
Speculation has been swirling over the future of the 34-year-old who quit Tests in late 2014 but remains in charge of the team in shorter formats.
The recent results, however, have not really enhanced the reputation of the man who led India to virtually every honour across all formats.
Under him, India lost their first ODI series in Bangladesh in June last year and went down to a visiting South African team in October.
On Sunday, Dhoni’s men succumbed to their third successive defeat in Australia who took an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series, chasing down big totals in Perth, Brisbane and Melbourne.
While some pundits believe test captain Virat Kohli should take over the limited-overs duties as well, BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur insisted Dhoni was the right man to lead India in shorter formats.
“The kind of performance we have had from Dhoni and the team under him in the last eight-nine years, I think it’s unfair to question his leadership after just one series,” Thakur told reporters.
“Dhoni is one of the most successful captains of the country. Under him, we won the World Cup in 2007 (T20) and 2011 (ODI). Team India rose to number one both in Tests and ODIs under his leadership.
“Unfortunately we lost all three matches so far, and we’ve noticed our bowling limitations too, not being able to defend big totals.
“It’s a concern and the selectors and team management would assess the performance keeping the Asia Cup and the Twenty20 World Cup in mind,” Thakur said.
Dhoni himself felt more than his captaincy, the team needed to look at the grey areas and how to fix them. “It’s not about the leader. I’m there (now), somebody else will come later,” the stumper-batsman said after the loss in Melbourne.
“What is more important is to see the areas we are lacking in, the departments which have to improve when it comes to shorter formats.”
Meanwhile, the Pune franchise of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will be named Rising Pune Supergiants (RPSG) with Dhoni captaining the side, its owner announced in Kolkata.
The franchise is owned by the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group and its chairman Sanjiv Goenka exuded confidence that the new team would do well in its maiden season.
On opting for Dhoni to lead the side despite having South African T20 skipper Faf du Plesis and Australian captain Steve Smith in the squad, Goenka said: “Yes, we have three captains in our team and we are proud of that fact. All three are outstanding leaders but looking into all aspects, we felt Dhoni to be the best choice”.
“Dhoni is somebody who has shown tremendous leadership in all formats of the game that he has played. We have great confidence in him,” he said.
Refusing to comment on Dhoni being under fire over India’s poor performance in the ongoing One-Day series in Australia, Goenka asserted the existence of three captains in his squad will not impact the harmony of the team.
On Dhoni being named as the captain only for this season, Goenka said: “Our focus right now is 2016. Being a new team we have to do well, so he has been named for our first season”.
While the Pune franchise has opted for the former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) coach-captain combination of Stephen Fleming and Dhoni, Goenka denied having any role for Michael Hussey as the new team’s batting consultant.
“This is not CSK, this is our team. Just because somebody was in Chennai team doesn’t mean he will have to do the same here.
“Dhoni-Fleming is a great combination. We will go with whoever we believe is in the best interest of our team,” said Goenka.
