THE MAHI EFFECT CONTINUED

Test match is real cricket is an age old adage - A purist's game. Every cricketer wants to do well in Tests and showcase his Skills. So a real great Captain must survive the litmus test of test captaincy the real "कसौटी". Indeed Mike Brearly made a distinguished career PRIMARILY as a Captain [being a specialist batsman he averaged less than 23 in 39 tests but was Widely regarded as one of England's greatest Captains. Rodney Hogg famously said about him that he had a degree in people] .

Putting all this in perspective I think it is fair to say that Dhoni has had a fantastic start to his still early days in Test Captaincy. Till now he has won 5, drawn 2 and lost none of his 7 Tests. India under his leadership has defeated SOUTH AFRICA, AUSTRALIA TWICE. ENGLAND at Home and abroad NEW ZEALAND in NZ after more than 30 years, a stupendous achievement by any yardstick. The real impact of his value has been felt whenever he has not played, recently in the Test against NZ and more notably against Sri Lanka which he opted out of fatigue. Murali and Mendis attacked like tigers in the tests and when Dhoni came rejuvenated in ODIs transformed into lambs and were taken to cleaners Dhoni being their main tormentor. Just another illustration of his effect. Some people attribute it to plain luck but luck alone cannot sustain for so long and certainly not without inherent merit. Detractors said the real test will come in NZ sharpening their claws but were forced to get them clipped when he returned back triumphant. And in extreme cynicism if at all it is just luck so be it. God blessed him with luck and Indian Cricket needed it and as he is providing great service, it is extremely unfair to criticize him particularly where there is no due. Just look at the results in that he captains two matches against Australia we won emphatically, Kumble captains in other two and we draw. The lone test he captains against SA we win. Sachin & Co. could not win with other captain even once in NZ in so many TESTS and when Dhoni Captains lo they win.

So it is plain and simple that even with a small stint Dhoni has already proved what a great Captain he is. Calm, calculative, strong supporter of his teammates and possessing great insight and profound knowledge of the game he to my mind is the best in the business at present. I do not want to compare him the other past greats of the world as i have not seen many of them but since i have been following cricket, say last 20 yrs he has looked the most impressive of all. Talking only of Indian Captains while stats give an incomplete story India did not win much and our results abroad were pathetic. Dada changed that and how and Ganguly and Dhoni would be my candidates for best ever Indian Captains for Dada took on Captaincy in real difficult circumstances and turned a struggling unit into a winning one and like Dhoni gave full backing to his players. I have no real desire to stir a hornet's nest by picking between them and i am very fond of both of them, Dhoni may be a little more because he is from my brother's school. But if i have to at all choose neutrally i would still go for [but only just] Dhoni as under him for all practical purposes India is the no. 1 team in the world today in all formats of the game and not the least for the fact that he got us a WORLD CUP.