MS Dhoni looked totally helpless

I feel sorry for MS Dhoni. Everybody is criticising him for India’s defeat at the hands of South Africa in Nagpur on Saturday. 

While some think it was foolish on Dhoni’s part to ask Ashish Nehra to bowl the 50th over, others reckon his decision to tinker with the batting order backfired. Many others are calling him arrogant and rigid for not giving R Ashwin a chance.

Yes, Dhoni hasn’t been at his best. At times, he has defied logic. But for me, the biggest culprits are our batsmen. We need to get one thing clear right away. Our biggest strength is our batting. 

And they must click in every game. Honestly, there’s no other choice. Dhoni does not have bowlers like Dale Steyn, Brett Lee and Lasith Malinga. 

I don’t remember the last time our bowlers — and that includes Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh — picked up four or five wickets in an ODI. Do you?

So you can’t expect much from them. Our batsmen, though, have messed up on more than one occasion. The most lustrous line-up in the world had no business to fold up the way they did in Nagpur. 

A 370-plus score was more than gettable on Saturday and during that tied game against England in Bangalore, but our batsmen fell woefully short on both occasions. Poor Sachin Tendulkar must be kicking himself. He scored a hundred on both occasions, but his teammates messed up.

So what can Dhoni do to salvage the situation? First things first, he must bat higher. Once Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag have given the side a good start (let’s assume the scoreboard reads 160/1 after 30 overs), Dhoni must be the next man in. 

As skipper, he must realise that India aren’t in the best of form. The leader in Dhoni must come to the fore. He must take charge of the situation and prevent such shameful collapses.

I don’t know if you have observed it, but Suresh Raina is, invariably, on the field! And somehow or the other, the ball loves to travel in his direction. 

No wonder, he ends up taking a crucial catch or effects a stunning run-out every now and then. I’m surprised how the umpires — and rival captains — aren’t objecting to his perennial presence on the ground.

Dhoni must, perhaps, give Raina a permanent role by naming him in the XI. Yusuf Pathan isn’t someone you can rely on in every game. Let’s be real, he hasn’t set the World Cup on fire. Raina must come in to the side in place of Pathan or, maybe even, Virat Kohli.

Also, it’s time he picked Ashwin. If India play two spinners and two seamers, then Ashwin has to be in the side. And in case he opts for three seamers, then S Sreesanth — or anybody else — must replace Nehra. 

I sincerely don’t know what Nehra is doing in that side. He is unfit most of the time. Why do you think Dhoni gave him a one-over spell against The Netherlands in New Delhi?

Basically, Nehra hasn’t had enough match practice. At the time of writing this column, I see that comeback man Michael Hussey has just completed his half-century. 

The commentator reminds me that the southpaw proved his fitness in a Sheffield Shield game before catching a plane to India. How then did Nehra walk into the XI? 

He could have easily played a Vijay Hazare Trophy match for Delhi, but the fact is our man hasn’t played a domestic game since ages. That’s how flawed our system is.

Still, I am confident India will beat the West Indies and book a QF berth without ‘outside’ help. They will, however, find it difficult to top the group. I must reiterate that all is not lost. Let’s hope for the best.