Dhoni stuns India with his perfect timing

The joke doing the rounds in Indian cricket is that the nine-year moratorium mandated by the Supreme Court for all BCCI officials has done for Mahendra Singh Dhoni too.

Dhoni, who stepped down as India's ODI and T20 captain on Wednesday evening - barely 11 days before the limited-overs series against England - was dramatically elevated to the position of India’s  leader in 2007, nine years ago.

But the 35-year-old World Cup-winning captain, who is arguably the most influential limited-overs cricketer in the modern game, could not have timed his resignation better.

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Typically understated, Dhoni's decision to leave the captaincy came through a short release from the Board of Control for Cricket in India, rather than at a televised press conference.

Just like when he retired from Test cricket during the 2014-15 tour of Australia after the third Test in Melbourne, when he gave no hint of his decision at the post-match media interaction barely minutes before the BCCI release arrived.

Sceptics will argue that Virat Kohli's phenomenal rise as Test captain - unbeaten in his last 18 Tests with 14 wins - would probably have made Dhoni see the writing on the wall.

Some may even think that the selectors had nudged Dhoni to step down and make way for Kohli, who is seven years younger and the obvious choice to lead India towards the 2019 World Cup in England.

 

But just like his Test retirement, it was Dhoni's own decision to quit the ODI and T20 captaincy even as he made himself available as a player for the home games against England.

Chairman of selectors MSK Prasad, himself a batsman-wicketkeeper who played six Tests and 17 ODIs between 1998 and 2000, told reporters that Dhoni was certain to be picked when the squad is finalised on Friday.

Dhoni had personally informed Prasad of his decision to step down as captain on the sidelines of the Ranji Trophy semi-final in Nagpur, where Dhoni was serving as a non-playing mentor of his state team Jharkhand.

Dhoni has yet to speak publically on the matter, but close friends say he wants to prolong his career - possibly even until the 2019 World Cup.

"Mahi knows he is still good enough to play for a few more years," a friend said. "With Kohli around, there was no need to hang on to the captaincy.

"He is now free to concentrate on his game and take it one match at a time. Having seen his hunger to succeed, I am certain the best is not behind Mahi yet."

 

The first target will be the Champions Trophy in England in June, a tournament India go into as defending champions after Dhoni's men surprised hosts England in the final in 2013.

India play just three ODIs and as many T20 internationals at home against England before the Champions Trophy, which gives Dhoni little room to fail if he is to make the flight to London.

Dhoni's wicketkeeping retains a touch of class - few will forget his sensational last-ball run out of Bangladesh's Mustafizur Rahman during last year's World T20 game - but his form with the bat will worry selectors.

Dhoni has scored just one half-century in his last 13 ODIs, a 91-ball 80 against New Zealand in Mohali in October, and the fluent strokeplay that was the hallmark of his batting appears to have deserted him.

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But it will be unfair to write off the man who rose from a lowly-paid railway ticket collector in the backwaters of Jharkhand to one of the richest sporting superstars on the planet.

His fairytale rise to the top is already a subject of a successful Bollywood movie.

Dhoni was surprisingly chosen as captain for the inaugural World Twenty20 in South Africa in 2007 - a format that India then believed was a waste of time - after senior players like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble declined to play.

A stunning title triumph in that tournament was followed by Dhoni leading India to the number one ranking in Tests between 2009 and 2011. Then came the World Cup win in Mumbai in 2011 and the Champions Trophy success two years later.

The great Sachin Tendulkar, who was Dhoni's teammate for a decade, said he respected the decision to quit the captaincy and hoped he will continue to shine as a player.

 

"Congratulations to MSD on a wonderful career as captain, leading India to successes in both the T20 and ODI World Cups," Tendulkar wrote in a message on Twitter.

"Have seen him emerge from an aggressive player to a steady and decisive captain....

"It's a day to celebrate MSD's successful captaincy and respect his decision.... Wish the very best as he continues entertaining us on the field with his exploits."

By the numbers: MS Dhoni as captain

One Day Internationals

6633 – The number of runs scored by MS Dhoni as a captain in ODIs, the second most by anyone in history and just behind Australia’s Ricky Ponting (8497 runs). Dhoni, who took over as India captain in a series against Australia in 2007, scored 6633 runs in his career as a leader at an average of 53.92 and a strike rate of 86.29, with six hundreds and 47 fifties. All of his runs as captain have been scored as a wicketkeeper too, easily the most by anyone. 

110 – The number of matches won by Dhoni as captain, again the second most by anyone and just behind Ricky Ponting (165). Dhoni led India in 199 ODIs, won 110, lost 74 and tied 4, with 11 games ending as a no result. Interestingly, he is the only captain in the world who has been involved in four tied ODIs.

15 – The number of player-of-the-match awards won by Dhoni as a captain in ODIs. Just three players have won more than him – Arjuna Ranatunga, Ricky Ponting and Sanath Jayasuriya (19 each). He is also one of the three captains to earn a player-of-the-match award in a World Cup final (2011). Ricky Ponting (2003) and Clive Lloyd (1975) are the other two.  

53.92 – Dhoni’s batting average as captain in ODIs, the second highest among all captains with at least 20 innings. Only AB de Villiers (65.92) has a better batting mean than the Indian skipper. De Villiers has played 82 innings to Dhoni’s 171. 

91.64 – The batting average of Dhoni in successful run chases as a captain in ODIs, the highest in history by any player with at least 20 innings. He scored 1558 runs at 91.64 while chasing a target in ODIs when India won. The next in the list is Arjuna Ranatunga (73.59) and then Allan Border (73.11).

58.51 – Dhoni’s win percentage as captain, the highest for any India leader in ODIs. Dhoni won 110 out of 199 matches for India. Rahul Dravid (56.00) has the second best win percentage and then Kapil Dev (54.16). 

126 – The number of sixes hit by Dhoni in ODIs. He went past Ricky Ponting’s tally (123) during the most recent series against New Zealand which India won 3-2. Overall, he has hit 197 sixes and since he is still available for selection in the ODI team, he has a chance to become just fifth batsman to have 200 sixes in ODIs after Brendon McCullum (200), Chris Gayle (238), Sanath Jayasuriya (270) and Shahid Afridi (351). 

95.00 – India’s win percentage in ODI chases when Dhoni ends the innings as a not out batsman. Of 40 times he ended as a not out batsman, India won 38 matches and lost just one – against Pakistan in Kolkata in 2013 whereas one game was tied – against Sri Lanka in Adelaide in 2012. 

256 – The number of dismissals by Dhoni as captain and wicketkeeper in ODIs, easily the most by anyone and miles ahead of the next Kumar Sangakkara (69). Dhoni in his career as captain and wicketkeeper took 185 catches and 71 stumpings.

9 – The number of consecutive ODI matches won by Dhoni between 2008 and 2009, the joint-most by any India captain besides Rahul Dravid who also won nine in a row in 2006. 

6 – The number of finals won by India in ODI tournaments under Dhoni’s captaincy, including ICC World Cup 2011, ICC Champions Trophy 2013, Asia Cup 2010 and the Commonwealth Bank Tri series in Australia in 2008. In addition to that, he also won a tri-series in Sri Lanka in 2009 and one in West Indies in 2013.  

T20 Internationals 

1112 – The number of runs scored by Dhoni as captain in T20 Internationals, the most by anyone and just the second batsman besides Faf du Plessis (1003) to amass 1000 runs in T20Is as captain. Dhoni has scored 1112 runs at an average of 40.12 and at a strike rate of 122.60, without scoring a hundred or a fifty.  

41 – The number of matches won by Dhoni as captain in T20Is, the most by anyone. He led India in 72 games and won 41 of them at a winning percentage of 56.94. The next most is West Indies' Darren Sammy (27) and then Ireland's William Porterfield (24). 

34 – The number of sixes hit by Dhoni as captain in T20Is, the second most by any player and only behind Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi who has hit 41. 

32 – The number of not out innings in T20Is by Dhoni, the most by anyone and eleven more than the next best JP Duminy (21). 

62 – The number consecutive innings played by Dhoni without a duck in T20Is. He has scored just one duck in his career which was on his debut against South Africa in Johannesburg in 2006 and incidentally that’s the only T20I which he didn’t play as captain. Since then he has batted 62 innings without a duck. The next in the list is Angelo Mathews (52 innings without a duck). 

2 – The number of T20 tournament finals won by MS Dhoni in international cricket, the joint-most by a captain besides Sammy and Porterfield. Dhoni led India’s successful campaign in ICC World T20 2007 winning the final against arch-rival Pakistan and also won the first ever Asia Cup T20 in 2016 beating Bangladesh in the final.

1 – The number of captains who have won seven or more T20Is in a row twice in their careers. Dhoni is the only player to achieve this feat. The first was between 2012 and 2015 and then in 2016. 

0 – The number of fifty-plus innings by Dhoni in T20Is. Surprisingly, there is none even though he has over 1000 runs in the game’s shortest format. His highest is 48 not out against Australia in Sydney in 2012. 

- With Mazher Arshad