MUMBAI: Beleaguered India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni appears set to retain his Test captaincy role - if he has the desire to continue - due to a sheer lack of alternative options to take on the job after yet another calamitous overseas tour.
India’s propensity for foreign failures was exposed in 2011 when the side lost eight consecutive tests with back-to-back 4-0 thrashings in England and Australia.
If fans in the world’s second-most populous nation, where cricket is treated like a religion, thought that period was the lowest point possible, they were in for a rude awakening when India landed in England series.
Dhoni’s garden appeared very rosy indeed when his unfancied side claimed their first overseas win in three years with a comprehensive second test victory at Lord’s but the joy and relief proved to be nothing more than a decorative flower. They capitulated meekly against a resurgent England in the next three matches, the final nail hammered into their coffin at the Oval when they lost by an innings and 244 runs and in less than three days to slump to a 3-1 series defeat.
While coach Duncan Fletcher saw his role reduced after the disastrous test segment of the tour with the Indian board moving quickly to appoint Ravi Shastri as director of cricket, there was barely a murmur on Dhoni’s fate.
In the 20 Test matches Dhoni has led India outside the country since their 2011 50-over World Cup triumph on home soil, the team has emerged victorious on just two occasions while the defeats column has moved rapidly on to an embarrassing 13.
As captain, the 33-year-old took India to the number one Test ranking, added the 50-over title to his resume in 2011, after a gap of 28 years, and also won the Champions Trophy in England.
His records probably never allowed administrators to look beyond him as the team’s figurehead or put in place a succession plan as Dhoni continues to lead India in Tests, ODIs T20 format.
Making matters even worse is the fact that following the retirement of several senior cricketers in the past few years, India do not have a single viable option able to step in and replace Dhoni.
Rising star Virat Kohli was considered a possible alternative but the 25-year-old batsman’s woeful form.“He (Dhoni) is only surviving because there’s no alternative. Otherwise, yes, it’s probably time to rethink on test captaincy and take the burden off him,” former chairman of selectors Krishnamachari Srikkanth told Indian television.
“But who’s the next captain? That is the problem. I mean with Virat Kohli’s form he is not in contention at all.”
REUTERS
