Dhoni not the real problem, the impatient Indian fan is
Trust Mahendra Singh Dhoni to come up with great insight when he speaks from his heart.
After India finally won an ODI against Australia in Sydney on Saturday, with Manish Pandey's maiden century catching the eye, the skipper talked at length about the need for variety in bowling.
Considering that India have been flogging more or less the same set of bowlers in all three formats - Tests, ODIs and T20s -Dhoni spoke about the need for variety.
And the timing of his message could not have been better as in this ODI series against Australia, all the bowlers were treated like club class and whacked to various parts of huge grounds.
At a time when people get vocal when it comes to discussing Dhoni's captaincy in ODIs and what value he brings to the side as a finisher, the Team India leader needs to ask himself a few questions as well.
But then, given the man's silence at most times, he has spoken well about how bowlers need to be picked for different formats on various scales of skills. Obviously, when one talks of old warhorse Ashish Nehra, one knows at his age and fitness, it's best to use him in the shortest format (T20).
Bowlers like Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma have come in for harsh treatment in this ODI series but to see youngster Jaspreet Bumrah fire on all cylinders in Sydney was refreshing.
When one plays in a debut match, it's very easy to get carried away. Bumrah has caught the eye and will be one to watch out for in coming months.
Hopefully, now that Dhoni has spoken, the national selectors will take note of what kind of a bowlers' pool needs to be prepared so that India don't look so fragile when taking the field.
To be sure, the hype and hoopla in the last few weeks in Australia has been over the performance of the Indian top order batting. Rohit Sharma's aggregate of 441 runs in five matches at a strike rate of 101.61 may look impressive, but he did not win a match for India despite hammering two hundreds.
Virat Kohli scored 381 runs in five matches with two tons, but he, too, never utilised the good start well enough for India to post a winning total.
In a series where a 300-run total was below par, skipper Dhoni had spoken as early as the second match about how the batsmen needed to add another 30 or 40 runs to make it more challenging for the Aussies to chase. None heard Dhoni.
Not even Shikhar Dhawan, who scratched around initially on the tour, then scored well in the last few matches for a total of 287 runs. That, again, did not win India a match as was evident on Saturday when he had a great start and did not consolidate.
It's well known that if an opener has a good look at the wicket and digs in, he can wear out the bowling attack if he stays for 50 overs. None in the Indian top order did that in Australia, knowing very well the middle order was fragile.
All this was till Saturday before Pandey arrived. For someone who has made a name for himself in the Indian Premier League, Pandey played beautifully. Having someone as seasoned as Dhoni for company in the middle was a great plus, but the way Pandey paced his innings was a delight to watch.
It's what one would expect from a No 4 batsman who brought strength to the batting line-up resulting in India posting their first win on this tour. A knock like this should ensure Pandey cements his place in the side for a good number of ODIs.
Back to the enigma called Dhoni. On Saturday, he showed glimpses of the past when he slammed a straight six in the final over to set up India's win. Agreed, he has not been finishing matches in his old patent style, but sacking him will not guarantee that the Indian bowlers will concede fewer runs. The problem is, these days the average fan has become impatient.
If chanting the "sack Dhoni" mantra can change India's fortunes, so be it. People need to take a holistic view of what went wrong in the recent ODIs and that blame has to be shared by batsmen who seem to be playing for personal records and bowlers who lack in imagination.
From now till the ICC World T20 at home, India will be playing only the shortest format - in Australia, against Sri Lanka at home and in the Asia Cup in Bangladesh.
Like it or lump it, Dhoni baiters will have to wait till the end of the ICC World T20 as he has been named skipper for the mega event.