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Tuesday, Jul 15, 2008
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The debate over Dhoni’s withdrawal

Dhoni’s honesty and courage have to be appreciated, writes Makarand Waingankar

No other country has had as much debate over a player’s withdrawal from a tour in recent times as we have in India after Dhoni made himself unavailable for the Sri Lanka tour.

In 1971, Tiger Pataudi, after being replaced by Wadekar, withdrew from the tour of the West Indies. For this, the media portrayed him as a traitor and the antagonism spilled over to the public.

A decade later, Gavaskar too was criticised for not making himself available for the West Indies tour that was eventually called off.

Both Pataudi and Gavaskar gave different reasons for withdrawing. Pataudi claimed personal reasons and Gavaskar had wanted rest not only for himself but also his team-mates after having played 12 consecutive Tests. But the BCCI insisted on the West Indies tour commencing within a fortnight after Pakistan’s tour of India.

Gavaskar’s reasoning

Gavaskar wasn’t willing to risk himself and his tired team facing the battery of West Indies fast bowlers. Though Gavaskar’s reasoning was sensible, the BCCI and a section of the media criticised Gavaskar’s role. It was seen as BCCI versus Gavaskar.

The BCCI always saw Gavaskar as an anti-establishment person, and none of his recommendations were viewed in the correct perspective. With the impact that television is having on the credibility of a cricketer now, either a cricketer like Dhoni gains or someone like Yuvraj Singh loses.

Dhoni certainly has built his image through the electronic media. His utterances are measured with honesty and purpose. His demeanour presents the character of a true team man willing to do anything for the team.

It’s when one has this image, reasoning for any act is accepted without murmur. He commented on the tight schedule and its effects on cricketers during the Asia Cup. And when his comment was not taken in the right spirit, he made himself unavailable for the tour. He didn’t let the thought of performances of his replacements cloud his decision. It’s a big risk that Dhoni has taken.

Funny game

Cricket is a funny game. A day prior to the first Test at Chennai against England in the 1963-64 series, Farokh Engineer was hit on the face in the nets.

Buddhi Kunderan replaced him and scored a brilliant 192 and with another century never gave Engineer a chance to get back in the team for the entire series.

If either Parthiv Patel or Dinesh Karthick do well during the Test series, would the selection committee drop both of them to make way for Dhoni?

Unlike Yuvraj Singh, Dhoni has been honest to the team. Yuvraj Singh, though having a serious shoulder problem (the reason for not fielding at the customary point position), didn’t make himself unavailable and the selectors dropped him after having a word with the coach and the physio.

Question mark

Yuvraj ought to have realised that he is an important player and should have asked for rest. That the selectors have to drop Yuvraj puts a question mark on his attitude.

The game is now far too commercial for any cricketer to take a break. In that context, Dhoni’s courage and his honesty of not letting the team down need to be appreciated.

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