MS Dhoni finds himself at the centre of controversy
13 Dec 2012 11:00 AM GMT
Indian skipper MS Dhoni on Wednesday found himself at the centre of a controversy after the disclosure that BCCI president N Srinivasan had overruled an unanimous decision of national selectors to sack him from captaincy. All the five national selectors had decided to sack Dhoni in January this year, but BCCI president Srinivasan had intervened and disapproved the decision, according to one of the then selectors Mohinder Amarnath.
Dhoni, who is Nagpur for the fourth and final Test against England starting on Thursday, did not appear to bothered by the controversy. In India, ‘every Tom, Dick and Harry have an opinion about the game’, he said, adding, ‘when people appreciate me a lot, I don’t feel as if I am in seventh heaven. And It’s the same when people criticise me. We (Indians) have extreme opinions. We praise and then start pulling the same individuals down. I would say it’s very important to be in the middle path because that’s how you will enjoy the sport,’ he insisted.
DHONI MIFFED WITH GAMBHIR’S ATTITUDE
Under fire after back-to-back defeats in the home series against England, Indian captain MS Dhoni is unhappy with Gautam Gambhir's ‘attitude and on-field ethics’ and has lodged a complaint to the BCCI against the left-hander, a media report claimed on Wednesday. Dhoni feels that Gambhir puts his interest above the team and has become too self-centered.
The Indian captain has gone to the extent of lodging a complaint to the BCCI tagging the opener's approach as ‘selfish’ and ‘hurtful to the team’, a cricket website reported, quoting an Indian player who pleaded anonymity.
‘Of late Gambhir has gone into a shell and focusing on just to save his place in the team. His prolonged poor form has resulted in low self-esteem and he's cut off from other issues pertaining to the team,’ the player was quoted as saying. ‘But what irked Dhoni was Gambhir playing for himself and not for the team. It was evident in the way Gambhir batted in the second innings of the Mumbai Test that he was more interested in carrying his bat by remaining not out, rather than shielding the tailenders and scoring quick runs.
‘...Every run was crucial but Gambhir chose to be a mute spectator. The whole world saw that and everyone was taken aback. The effort to contribute to the team wasn't there. Look how well R Ashwin batted with maturity during his unbeaten 91 in the Kolkata Test and he isn't a specialist batsman. He shepherded the tailenders superbly and scored vital runs. If Ashwin can do, why couldn't Gambhir?’ the player said.
While assuaging thoughts of any bad blood between Dhoni and Gambhir, the report cited the run-outs of Virender Sehwag in the first innings of the Kolkata Test and Cheteshwar Pujara in the second as moments which precipitated India’s downfall and left Dhoni miffed with Gambhir’s current approach. ‘On both occasions, Gambhir was at fault. While there were clearly three runs in Sehwag’s case which Gambhir declined, the call for a run to Pujara was ill-judged.
‘DON’T SPECULATE ON SACHIN’S FORM: MS
Dhoni, who is Nagpur for the fourth and final Test against England starting on Thursday, did not appear to bothered by the controversy. In India, ‘every Tom, Dick and Harry have an opinion about the game’, he said, adding, ‘when people appreciate me a lot, I don’t feel as if I am in seventh heaven. And It’s the same when people criticise me. We (Indians) have extreme opinions. We praise and then start pulling the same individuals down. I would say it’s very important to be in the middle path because that’s how you will enjoy the sport,’ he insisted.
DHONI MIFFED WITH GAMBHIR’S ATTITUDE
Under fire after back-to-back defeats in the home series against England, Indian captain MS Dhoni is unhappy with Gautam Gambhir's ‘attitude and on-field ethics’ and has lodged a complaint to the BCCI against the left-hander, a media report claimed on Wednesday. Dhoni feels that Gambhir puts his interest above the team and has become too self-centered.
The Indian captain has gone to the extent of lodging a complaint to the BCCI tagging the opener's approach as ‘selfish’ and ‘hurtful to the team’, a cricket website reported, quoting an Indian player who pleaded anonymity.
‘Of late Gambhir has gone into a shell and focusing on just to save his place in the team. His prolonged poor form has resulted in low self-esteem and he's cut off from other issues pertaining to the team,’ the player was quoted as saying. ‘But what irked Dhoni was Gambhir playing for himself and not for the team. It was evident in the way Gambhir batted in the second innings of the Mumbai Test that he was more interested in carrying his bat by remaining not out, rather than shielding the tailenders and scoring quick runs.
‘...Every run was crucial but Gambhir chose to be a mute spectator. The whole world saw that and everyone was taken aback. The effort to contribute to the team wasn't there. Look how well R Ashwin batted with maturity during his unbeaten 91 in the Kolkata Test and he isn't a specialist batsman. He shepherded the tailenders superbly and scored vital runs. If Ashwin can do, why couldn't Gambhir?’ the player said.
While assuaging thoughts of any bad blood between Dhoni and Gambhir, the report cited the run-outs of Virender Sehwag in the first innings of the Kolkata Test and Cheteshwar Pujara in the second as moments which precipitated India’s downfall and left Dhoni miffed with Gambhir’s current approach. ‘On both occasions, Gambhir was at fault. While there were clearly three runs in Sehwag’s case which Gambhir declined, the call for a run to Pujara was ill-judged.
‘DON’T SPECULATE ON SACHIN’S FORM: MS
Well aware of Sachin Tendulkar’s penchant for proving his detractors ‘wrong’, captain MS advised everyone to stop speculating about the senior batsman’s future in international cricket. ‘When it comes to Sachin I feel the best thing to do is not to speculate. He has proved everybody wrong throughout his career. But I am not Sachin Tendulkar, may be when he comes for pc (press conference) you will have to ask him,’ Dhoni said.
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