Is Dhoni the right choice?
Experts speak
Ayaz Memon, Editor, DNA:
In the current context, Dhoni is the right choice. He is captaining India in the Twenty20 series. So, it is a natural progression.
Sachin has made himself ineligible. There are questions on the number of games he would be playing and we cannot have an on-and-off captain. Sourav has just made a comeback and the Board may have chosen to give him more time and not bother him with a new responsibility. Dhoni is younger, and selectors may have felt that he would be a more stable influence in the dressing room.
Bobbilee Vijay Kumar, National Sports Editor, Times of India:
Given the present circumstances, the decision seems logical. I feel, Sachin would have been the best choice, given his seniority. But he was not keen on taking up the job; and he is unlikely to play too many ODIs. And the Board, perhaps, did not want to go back to Sourav...
Akshay Sawai, Sports Editor, Hindustan Times
Dhoni is the right choice and is of the right age. He is not a kid and not old either. Although his form may have swayed in a few games, there has never been a question on his commitment. He is a wholesome, positive influence on the team and his choice as captain is justified.
The sentimental part of us, perhaps, would still like to see Sourav as the captain. But he is 35. In this context, we should take a leaf out of the Australian book... The Aussies have been unsentimental in promoting young talent. We should not be disrespectful towards Sourav but, at the same time, keep the future in perspective.
Ehtesham Hasan, Sports Editor, Mumbai Mirror
Dhoni has just 3 years experience in One-day cricket and has never led a state team till date. So, I am a tad apprehensive of the decision. Besides, the history of the game shows that wicketkeepers have not been successful captains. I hope Dhoni proves it wrong. He is level-headed; but at the same time, there is fear that he will burn out.
Sourav, Sachin and Rahul backed out of the Twenty20 series. There's reason to question why Sourav and Sachin should be considered to lead in ODIs.
Clayton Murzello, Sports Editor, Mid-day
Dhoni is a good choice considering the present scenario of Indian cricket. However, I hope, his responsibility as captain is restricted to limited-over games. He is already captaining the T20 side and now has the ODI responsibility to shoulder. One captain for all three forms of the game would, perhaps, be stressful.
In the context of the future, I am not too sure if Ganguly or Sachin could have been assigned the responsibility. However, the two should be considered for captaining India in Test cricket. Looking back, Sachin has had two stints as captain. However, Ganguly has not been given a second chance after his exit as captain. So, I believe he should be given a chance to captain the Test side. |
Mumbai: MS Dhoni has been appointed the captain of the Indian team for the upcoming seven-match ODI series against Australia later this month and the five-match series against Pakistan, thereafter. Yuvraj Singh has been named the vice-captain.
The 26-year-old Dhoni, who is currently leading the Indian team in the Twenty20 World Cup, succeeds Rahul Dravid, who recently sprang a surprise by relinquishing the captaincy to concentrate on his batting.
The announcement was made by BCCI Secretary Niranjan Shah at a press conference, putting to rest intense speculation on the captaincy issue ever since Dravid stepped down on Friday last.
"I am hopeful he will get the support of other senior members and former captains in the team," chairman of the selection committee Dilip Vengsarkar said.
"Dhoni has the ability to become a succesful captain; he is an explosive batsman and is doing a good job in South Africa. It is the right time to gromm him," he said.
The chief selector also dismissed the notion that having three former captains would make it difficult for Dhoni to lead the side.
"I don't think so. He would have three former captains in the ranks who would give him full support. You are talking about having three captains and Azharuddin had five former captains under him when he led India in England," Vengsarkar said.
While Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh and S Sreesanth have been recalled to the team, Ajit Agarkar, Munaf Patel and Rohit Sharma failed to find a place in the fifteen member squad for the first three ODIs against Australia.
Though the selection committee chairman was all praise for Irfan Pathan and his all-round abilities, he sounded a word of caution for Munaf Patel, who he felt will have to improve his fitness to sustain in international cricket.
"Irfan and Harbhajan, both have done well off late in the Twenty20 World Cup and they deserve it. Irfan is a fine all-rounder and we will see his performance in the first few one dayers," he said.
Vengsarkar also justified the selection of three spinners, saying, "We expect to play at least two of them in every match".
As regards the Test side, the decision is likely to be taken after a month as India is not scheduled to play a Test before November. Though Sachin is still tipped to be the frontrunner for the post of Test captain, Vengsarkar refuted media reports that the master blaster was actually approached by the selectors for the top job.
"We have not had any discussion with Sachin about Test captaincy," Vengsarkar said.
When asked why Sehwag missed out, Vengsarkar said, "This team is only for the first three matches. Player rotation will be there; Sehwag will definitely get his opportunity".
Vengsarkar also said that the senior players won't be playing 12 matches on the trot and that they will be rested to give young players a chance.
Also read:
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ODI team
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (C, WK), Yuvraj Singh (VC), Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Dinesh Karthik, Irfan Pathan, Ramesh Powar, Rudra Pratap Singh, S Sreesanth, Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla, Zaheer Khan.
With inputs from Pallavi Bhattacharyya
