Lets look back a bit.
When MS Dhoni announced to give up his Captaincy in 2017, he almost set up everything for Virat Kohli. A team that was ruling ODI cricket, the strongest bunch of players and a perfect period to make his own team till next World Cup.
Kohli had two ODI home series for initial adjustment, then an ICC trophy (Champions Trophy 2017) at the same venue of next World Cup and then 2 years to build his own team.
He started good. Or rather he didn’t have to do anything to have a good start. Sourav got the team in a dark period, MSD got the team after Greg Chappell disaster. They had to fix things. Kohli got a finished product.
Still the blunder in his Captaincy shown in first big tournament when he decided to bowl first in final, which tremendously backfired. India lost a major trophy to a below standard team which was supposed to be a cakewalk and it was actually, till final.
That was easiest ICC competition ever for us to win. And we gifted it.
What followed was nothing but blunders and repeated mistakes.
India appointed a coach who is good for nothing but because yes-man of the Captain. Removing whom? One of finest gentleman in country’s cricket history.
Imagine if someone have problem with characters like Anil Kumble or Rahul Dravid! How wrong that person can be!
What next? It’s been two years but India is yet to win a game based on his Captaincy and nothing else.
Remember the Champions Trophy 2002 semifinal when Ganguly asked Sehwag to bowl vs SA and he won us the game? When Dhoni dared to give over to Ishant in Champions Trophy 2013 final and two back to back wickets changed everything? Where is one such moment of brilliant captaincy?
Again, Virat got a team so strong that after having thousands of flaws in his Captaincy, the team got results and all were overlooked.
Bhuvi was in form of his life when repeated droppings, in the name of rests/rotation, cost his form. He was continuously rotating his bowlers in every series, even within the series when it was not required at all.
Dinesh Karthik was producing his best ever cricket when he was not picked up at all and then called up in WC squad directly.
Rayudu was playing for 2 years at no.4, groomed overseas and then suddenly omitted from the WC squad - so much so that he was not picked even when 2 players got out injured.
He suddenly decided to give Vijay Shankar the no.4 spot - a player who is miles away from proving himself. Then Mayank was called, nobody knows why?
And why don’t we blame him for all these??
We know a certain gentleman named Anil Kumble once spoke against him, tried to rectify his mistakes and what happened!
Virat decided to take a bunch of fancy cricketers than responsible ones. He preferred Hardik, Risabh, Rahul who are brilliant in terms of cricketing abilities but never won us a given on their shoulders. Did they?
All our lives we have seen Sourav & Dhoni to have a fixed team and changed only when it was required.
Virat walked completely different way. Australia away, NZ away, Australia home - the series which were supposed to final tests before WC, Kohli kept on rotating squad. The rate of experiment was so much that India lost home series 2-3 to weakest ever Australian side after leading 2-0. It looked like all eyes are on WC, so it’s fine to lose the series.
This ain’t international football for god sake and these weren’t FIFA friendly.
One example here is, in Australia home series, Dhoni was rested after 3 games and Pant was given chance for next 2 but we selected Karthik in WC squad and not Pant. Also the inability in Virat’s Captaincy was shown in those 2 ODIs when Dhoni was rested (for no reason).
If anything Jadeja’s all round performance has proved yesterday, that’s how wrong Virat was in terms of picking his all rounders. He made Jadeja sit & Vijay play who scored hardly 15 runs and cannot be asked to bowl when others have flopped.
We had eight group games, two practice matches before semi and Kohli still could not find a set team.
India’s middle order was not weak. It never existed. There was continuous rotation in batting order, nobody knew where and when he would come in.
He picked Dinesh Karthik after trying with everyone but didn’t send him at no.3 vs Sri Lanka to have some batting when we were easing pass to victory.
What happened next was Karthik coming to crease at 5/3 in WC semi who has played only 7 balls in that World Cup. I would still say he tried his best to play out Boult’s initial overs and just when started to accelerate, a brilliant catch sent him home. I see only Virat’s fault here and not Karthik’s.
If Dhoni was there instead of Pant at 4 and India needed 90 in last 10 with at least either of Pant or Hardik to bat along with Jaddu, it would have been an easier chase.
I have seen India bulldozed by NZ 2-5 in 2003 ODI series and Sourav still stuck with that squad to knock NZ out of WC a month later.
And here is Kohli, who rotated a squad that defeated NZ at their own backyard and lost in WC semis to them only, which is again looked easiest WC campaign ever.
But Virat won’t step down and the board won’t ask to. What can you expect when they can sack someone like Kumble for the Captain - A captain who was, rather is, yet to prove his brilliance?
There was one and only MS Dhoni who was given the worst, the hardest, the toughest job for this team during the period whenever required and that man, without caring about anything, tried to do it and was bashed whenever failed.
MS Dhoni, you have lived enough only to become a villain. Now retire.
And let the world see and Virat understand that if aggression only can lead a team then Yuvraj Singh would have been the best Captain ever.
