Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s offer to quit the Test captaincy is a peevish reaction to the harsh and justifiable criticism levelled at him and at Team India for the twin disasters in England and Australia. At a time when a captain should show the way forward by inspiring his teammates to bounce back off the floor, Dhoni is busy contemplating his own future. Where was the need for the skipper to ruminate on where he might stand in 2013 and years into the future when all of Indian cricket’s problems seem pegged to the present?
Modern cricket is full of lavishly-paid superstars whose commitment to their sizeable endorsement and management contracts is becoming legendary. The lack of credible alternatives in a failing team may also have emboldened Dhoni to speak in challenging tones about the Test captaincy, which he terms a great personal sacrifice. His open espousal of younger legs and fresh minds in his team may appear logical, but is disparaging of seniors who helped his team reach the heights in Test cricket as well.
While their string of failures in Australia can’t be dismissed as a mere reflection of current form of the greats, it’s only right that they be respected for their enormous contributions to Indian cricket. Dhoni may be sceptical of the Test match format — he once skipped an entire Test tour in order to take rest — but he cannot display his contempt for it by attaching so much importance to the defence of the World Cup, which is years away.