India needs fixing, not crucifixion
Defending champions India failed to make it to the World Twenty20 semi-finals and the blame game has begun, with many questioning MS Dhoni's captaincy
Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
Defending champions India failed to make it to the World Twenty20 semi-finals and the blame game has begun, with many questioning MS Dhoni's captaincy. Ayaz Memon writes in the Daily News & Analysis that the team needs some fixing, not crucifixion, for a quick recovery.
It is not that an entire set of quality young players has suddenly forgotten how to play, or that the Indian captain -- till yesterday regarded a whiz at man-management and understanding game situations -- has suddenly become a twit. That's a cop-out explanation. There is much that has gone wrong in this tournament but Twenty20 cricket, as we should know, can also be gloriously or agonisingly topsy-turvy as the IPL showed emphatically.
In his column in the Hindustan Times Sunil Gavaskar asks whether there is anyone better who can replace Dhoni? Dhoni is young and is still learning the trade, so he will get it wrong sometimes, he writes.
According to Bobili Vijay Kumar in the Times of India Dhoni is trying to temper his batting improve his defenses and evolve as a complete batsman and that is not working.
India have suffered due to his quiet ways in the middle, in at least two games. The dot balls have ensured that the team invariably fell short of a few runs. There are, no doubt, a few other reasons too: the absence of Sehwag, and his blistering starts at the top; the ineffectiveness of Ishant with the ball and even lack of cohesion within the team.
Nishi Narayanan is a staff writer at ESPNcricinfo