The ODI

In all 3 instances, after literally mauling their opponents in a Test series; England, Australia and South Africa promptly lost or barely drew the ODI series' that followed

England soundly beat India at it own game in a 4 Test Series 2-1 in India and mercifully the Australia v Sri Lanka and the South Africa v New Zealand series' were only 2-3 Tests long.

The hosts in both the series won all the test matches.

In all the 3 series' the strongest Test teams were happy to show their muscle in the Tests but under various guises fielded watered down versions of their Test squads during the ODI leg.

I have been surprised at how long the ODI has survived after the advent of the T20 format and the franchise model. But may be... just may be, England, Australia and South Africa are inadvertently making some sort of a statement that the ODI has become irrelevant.

Surely the ODI isn't as profitable as the T20. One can presume this is true because because if the statement were false, surely the IPL would have had at least a few 50 over games in a season.

So why are we still playing the format when clearly the best international teams don't think much of it. Even when India were doing well in Tests rarely would they field their strongest ODI teams for the ODI leg of any series.

May be when the current TV contracts run out, the next ones will not have any ODI requirements in the schedule. May be its the existing TV contracts that is keeping the ODI alive.

The Dhoni situation

Verdict on Dhoni's standing as a captain was always going to be reserved for tougher times. The team that got India regular wins in Test cricket, undoubtedly had a collection of all time greats. Captaining a team of brilliant individuals and notching up wins was never going to do much to Mahendra Singh Dhoni's legacy as a captain. How he would fare after the greats had retired was a matter of interest for me. That would show his true worth as captain.

As things turned out India's greats held on selfishly to their own positions in the team, justified by past achievements, even when collectively they had stopped being effective.With more or less the same team that got India to be a force in Test Cricket, Mahendra Singh Dhoni led the team to consecutive losses in England and Australia. While it is true India's bowling had no sting, it was the inability of the batting greats to hold on for even nominally respectful draws that was humiliating.

And now after Rahul Dravid has retired, followed by VVS Laxman - reluctantly, Zaheer Khan to fitness and Harbhajan to God-knows-what, the voices questioning Mahendra Singh Dhoni's captaincy are growing.

In a culture that encourages and even lauds senior players who motor on as 'just a player' with leadership roles that come with unverifiable accountability, there are many who demand a share of accolades in a win but only one, the captain, who is held accountable when losses mount.

During the 8 defeats, Dhoni neither engineered any change, nor did he show any desire to. Instead he and his team relentlessly defended the status quo and refused to feel the intensity of the defeats.

What real power the captain of the Indian team has to make a change may be unknown but it is safe to assume its very little to begin with. Perhaps he has no power whatsoever when you have a team of all time, self consuming, beyond-their-prime greats. When you add to it the shadow of the IPL on the Indian National team, one can only speculate what sort of motivations drive decisions; or in-decisions in this case.

It is highly questionable if a 'better captain' would have delivered a better result; although that does not mean Mahendra Singh Dhoni as captain could not have done better.

What would have been really ideal for Indian cricket is back when Rahul Dravid resigned his captaincy or even when Anil Kumble retired, had Sachin Tendulkar stood up to take leadership of the team. It would have made a huge difference in my opinion to have the best player in the team also be its captain, be ready to be accountable for the results and in the process also leave a lasting mark on its future.

And then now, or whenever Sachin decides to retire, would have been a good time for Mahendra Singh Dhoni to assume the captaincy. With his own team.

As things have turned out, Mahendra Singh Dhoni has now implicated himself as a central figure in India's decline and there is really tough to defend him. A truly secure captain would have been the most vocal critic of all, in the way things have turned out in the last 2 years after the World Cup. Instead his analysis of defeats is most self serving, typical of an insecure line manager. 

That he thinks losing the home series to England is not a 'new low' for India is troublesome. His reference to India's 2007 World Cup performance as the lowest low, for me reveals a disconnect. Strong World Cup performances are always welcome, the real health of a team can only be gauged by how well they do in Tests. Mahendra Singh Dhoni's assessment does bring into question whether his heart is truly only for limited overs cricket.

It is well understood that with the greats gone, India will win less often. Although it would be foolish to think that a Sachin Tendulkar or a Rahul Dravid are pre-requisites to putting together a winning team. India have won World Cups and away series before Sachin and co. came on to the scene and they will win without them in future. Talent has never been a problem in India and captains have always had very limited span of control over real decisions.

Whether a new man, God forbid that man to be Gautam Gambhir, will do better is not of real interest to me. Of real interest is whether a decision on India's Test Captain will be made purely on cricketing merits.

A Cynic's Guide to India's Do Nothing Different Philosophy

Competence can be found but what about loyalty?

I would like to see Dhoni given a chance to run his own team. A team wherein he is the undisputed decision maker. A team where he does not have to worry about the legends who inadvertently command more respect and influence on decisions than he does. 

It is one thing to be captain. Quite another to be a Sachin Tendulkar or a Rahul Dravid.

I think he will do well if he is the undisputed leader of the team. 

He was man enough to lead a side wherein almost everyone was his senior, either in age or length of career. Even Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Virendra Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh had played a good 5-6 years of cricket for India when Dhoni was made captain.

While he initially enjoyed the fruits of superlative individuals  in his team, once the IPL started encroaching on national interests and priorities got jumbled up, none of the seniors stood up to support him. They had their own money making ideas over the fate of the national team.

Sachin Tendulkar and co. were more interested in negotiating with the BCCI a deal wherein they will get compensated if they were to miss the IPL while playing for India, than to discuss with the BCCI how to protect the National team's interest. 

That became only Mahendra Singh Dhoni's problem.

Team India's culture that allows leadership shy cricketers to play 'just as a player' means the team has many leaders who demand a share in its success but only one that can be held accountable for failures. 

Its fine to assume and say that Sachin Tendulkar is a great influence on the team. Its fine to assume and say that the 'dressing room benefits from his vast experience'. How does one measure the effectiveness of these contributions. How much of India's recent poor performances can be attributed to Sachin not doing his job as a mentor? 

Its tough and probably harsh on SachinTendulkar to be asked the question. 

But that is precisely the problem with having so many non performing seniors in the team, who are held to no accountability when the times are bad.

India's lamentable record warrants changes. Also warrants a hard look at Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

But India's problems are not problems of competency. Its an issue of attitude, priorities and loyalty to national interests. 

Ever since Lala Amarnath scored a 100 on debut against Douglas Jardine's English team, there haven't been many periods where India have been without great batting talent. India may feel that replacing Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar will be impossible, but neither is such talent a prerequisite for winning nor is it prudent to believe that there is no talent waiting to be found. 

Talent will be found. Both batting and bowling.

What we need a solution for is how to balance the IPL with national interests. A problem Sachin and other seniors have become a part of.

No captain can lead India again with honor and distinction unless the national game is given priority. Its not the losing that hurts its the mortgaging of India's national team to the IPL by the seniors that rankles. 

To hold Mahendra Singh Dhoni alone responsible for that and expect that somehow Virat Kohli can fix that is delusional.

England In India: Questions in the middle of an ugly series

This is a sequel to the post England In India: Questions ahead of a potentially ugly series

Who is winning the series?

The IPL

Are there any positives for India?

Plenty. 

For starters there is no infighting like when England lost to South Africa or when Pakistan plays. Although I won't call it a complete positive. I think it makes me quite uncomfortable that the team is so united in humiliation. I smell something fishy. 

Secondly, as bad as they have played, the series is still not lost. 

Thirdly, the best fielder in the series is Indian. Don't trust what you hear about Sehwag's careless running and Gambhir's poor signalling, that led to the match starting horribly for India. While all that is true, it was triggered by Samit Patel's brilliant effort on the boundary line. 

And Finally Zaheer Khan did not break down as we had incorrectly predicted. In our view he is in the top 56 of the fittest bowlers in the world 

How will the series end?

With Sachin Tendulkar not retiring.

No seriously, what's the prediction?

The series will end with the Pakistan circus series as a 'fresh start'. 

Is Naseer Hussain right to call India's cricketers 'God-like'?

Yes. But it must be tough being Naseer Hussain. Last year he called them donkeys and got criticized. This year he calls them God-like and he still is unlikely to win fans. My advice to Naseer is this...call them salesmen or entertainers. It will strike a chord.

Why do Indian cricketers and coaches bother to speak to the media?

With the express intent to launch an assault on people's intelligence. I think in their minds we have brains the size of Gautam Gambhir.

How good is England really?

Once they investigate why they lost in Ahmedabad, they can build on the series result.

Who is to blame for India's losses? Bowlers or Batsmen?

This one is easy - Batsmen. You need good bowlers to win consistently. You need good batsmen to draw matches consistently. But matches are almost always lost with poor batting. It means you are not good enough to draw. In fact the weaker your bowling, your batsmen have that much less to bat to force draws.

Who is more angry Sachin-ists or Sach-atheists?

Sachin's fans are more angry. Just based on personal experience, I get a lot of (okay may be one or two....hmmm...one) 'You...Sachin hater' type greetings from well wishers. I don't know of anyone who is angry with Sachin fans. Perhaps its proof that Sachin is not God after all. People who don't believe in God are not called God-haters so why this venom against people who no longer believe in the 'Sachin Story'...Just like traditional atheists I just don't believe Sachin should exist in the team. The rest are free to enjoy and experience his existence. Stop being angry with me. I am as stupid as you are.

If there is one lesson in this series for India what is it?

Next time a visiting side arrives, please give adequate practice to Indian batsmen against visiting spinners. When you are this bad, tour games are opportunities for home teams as well. Think outside the box.

Can things get any worse for India?

Yes, If they win at Nagpur