What Makes Dhoni So Smug?

The notoriously fickle Indian public opinion was in full display again when the Indian cricket team beat England in the ODIs, after the first match was washed out. That even our cricketing rock stars should have become accustomed to being elevated to the status of demigods one day and brought down to earth the next, with even their homes being pelted with stones or their effigies being burnt, occasionally, ought not to surprise us anymore. With three consecutive wins against the English team, which looked completely out of its depth, everything was conveniently forgotten.

When I say “everything”, I mean just that… everything. Dhoni’s incompetent captaincy in the Tests, India’s spineless batting display on seaming tracks and conditions that assisted swing bowling, not to mention a part-time bowler like Moeen Ali being made to look like the world’s best off spinner, the large number of catches that slipped through the fingers of our fielders, etc., was all conveniently forgotten. Indeed, all was forgiven as well. That the final ODI showed us just what England was capable of never seemed to register with our cricket-crazy public, willfully inebriated on Dhoni and team’s exploits on the field in the shorter format of the game.

It did not occur to most cricket aficionados that India won partly because England played badly. Yes, there were other factors, too. The inclusion of some one-day specialists like Suresh Raina was like a shot in the arm for the dispirited Indian team. The energy and initiative, the sense of urgency in the field, which these players brought with them, seemed to have infected some of their colleagues who looked distinctly lackluster and listless during the Test campaign. Even bowlers like Mohammed Shami could be clearly seen to be running in harder and with more purpose.

I am well aware of the negative response an article of this kind is likely to evoke from hardcore Dhoni fans who prefer to remain blind to his faults. Therefore, it may be in order to qualify my arguments with an honest admission to having been an ardent Dhoni fan myself. Ever since he first burst onto the international cricketing scene, with his trademark mane coupled with the controlled aggression in which he wielded his willow was nothing short of gladiatorial. His supreme confidence in his own abilities and his uncanny calm in the most trying circumstances often made him appear like a Shaolin monk who had taken to cricket as if to prove a point.

Once he took over the reins of captaincy, there was no looking back. His astounding record as skipper tells its own tale. That he should be considered the best ever Indian captain albeit in the shorter formats of the game, and the best in the business in international cricket, at present, has become incontrovertible. However, there clearly appears to be a darker side to Dhoni, particularly as an individual and a leader. His smug smile during one of the post-match press conferences after India’s debacle in the Test series, said it all. That was in response to having been asked whether he would consider stepping down as captain of the Indian Test team, and when it was suggested that he may well face the axe from irate selectors back home. Dhoni pressed home the point to good effect. He reminded the scribes present that one of them had asked him the same question when the Indian team led by him had fared even worse during its last visit to England. I am sure the point was made.  

The question is: what makes Dhoni so smug? What makes him delude himself into thinking he is indispensable to the scheme of things in Indian cricket? Has he become so arrogant that he has begun to assume he is bigger than Indian cricket? Has his success gone to his head? Or, is it simple, old-fashioned calculation that is at work here, much like what he is applauded for while on the field by a fawning Indian media? Is it the TINA factor at work? Remember TINA? The much bandied about term by political correspondents not too long ago. Yes, TINA stands for “there is no alternative”! Is that the inference Dhoni has drawn in his own mind? Has his preeminent position in Indian cricket currently lulled him into self-deception that finds expression in his smugness? Consider this…

Dhoni has systematically eliminated the entire second rung of leaders from the Indian team. Everybody who could be a potential captain of the team has been sidelined or dropped from the team. Sehwag, Gambhir and Harbhajan are clear examples of this policy. Others like Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh ruled themselves out owing to injury and health issues. And, with the four greats out of the way, this ploy to consolidate his hold over the team has clearly worked for Dhoni. His proximity to BCCI chief, Srinivasan, thanks to the Chennai Super Kings connection, made matters relatively easy for him. I wonder when was the last time a skipper wielded so much clout in India or even in the entire subcontinent. The only other name that comes to mind is Imran Khan, when he captained Pakistan just before he decided to hang up his boots.

Now with even Virat Kohli going through a rough patch and his place in the Test playing eleven under a cloud, the last remaining threat to Dhoni’s throne also seems to be ebbing away. Is it any surprise that Dhoni should sport that smug smile? That his patron, Srinivasan, should be in serious trouble, and that Dhoni’s own conduct on and off the field during the IPL should have been called into question, does not seem to have affected him in the least bit. He clearly thinks he can get away with anything. Consider how he refused three singles during the only T20 encounter with England despite having a frontline batsman at the other end. Isn’t it an interesting coincidence that India lost by exactly three runs, eventually?

If Dhoni wants to be remembered as a truly great leader, as somebody like Imran Khan clearly is in Pakistani cricket, only statistics will not ensure that status for him in the annals of Indian cricket. He will have to work seriously on improving his Test record, particularly overseas. He would have to be gracious enough to accept that his own skills are on the wane, even if ever so slightly that almost nobody notices it at this stage. He is not the young dasher he once was and looks less invincible when he bats these days. Therefore, he ought to show more confidence in young talent that he has at his disposal and be fair to one and all in the team. He should desist from encouraging sycophancy and groupism within the team and rise above petty personal considerations. Ultimately, whether or not Dhoni is remembered as just a great ODI and T20 captain or a great leader of Indian cricket, overall, during his time, only time will tell…