MSD’s sportsmanship wins hearts

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India hit heady heights in cricket in the captaincy of M.S. Dhoni. But a series of loss in the recent Test cricket in Australia brought him and his years of effort to take the Indian cricket team to the top most level to square one. His captaincy has been under debate for some time now. However the ‘captain cool’s’ recent statement to step aside from the position of a captain in the Test matches in the availability of a better captain, has again won him accolades from the cricket fraternity and fans alike.
Many think it’s a sportsmanship spirit to accept his faults in the past few matches, especially in the Test cricket and step aside. Former cricketer Aakash Chopra says that his offer shows that he isn’t insecure as a professional cricket player. “Captaincy should always go to the best man suited for the job. And Dhoni has made a fair point,” he says.
Even senior international players like Sunil Gavaskar and Wasim Akram have applauded Dhoni’s proposal at different public platforms. Former cricketer Maninder Singh says that Dhoni has shown a gesture that is difficult for many to do. “It’s hard to let go the power. He has realised his mistakes and has agreed to step down for the better of the team. Power is something that is hard to let go off. But Dhoni has done that,” says Singh.
Young cricket fans also see the skipper’s offer as a gutsy move. Hospitality professional Akshay Tomar says that unlike cricketers in the past Dhoni is not taking captaincy as his monarchy. “We have seen former cricket captains get defensive when their performance was questioned. In this case, Dhoni has presented a very dignified personality. I really respect him for that,” he says.
However, some cricket fans think that Dhoni should have stepped aside from captaining the Test team much earlier.
Businessman Vikas Kumar says Dhoni has been under immense pressure ever since India won the ICC World Cup. “Just after winning the World Cup trophy, India was unable to perform well in the Test matches in England in July, 2011. Only if he understood his responsibilities well ahead and suggested having a separate captain for the Test Team then, India would have been in a different position right now. But it’s never too late,” remarks Vikas.
Even some cricketers’ think that Dhoni’s acceptance has not just set an example for young cricket players but has also come as a wake up call for many seniors, both in the management and the team to analyse their performance. “It’s a time to reform the team in various ways. It’s time set goals, look at the drawbacks and bring changes. The loss in the Test cricket is not just because of Dhoni, the entire team was at fault. We need to have better coaches. We also need to have separate captains for separate formats. That’s how cricket teams world over works. We should also start doing that,” concludes former cricketer Atul Wassan.