Ian Chappell comes down heavily on MS Dhoni, calls him a serial offender

Mahendra Singh Dhoni talks to Varun Aaron in the final Test match of the series at The Oval

Former Australian captain Ian Chappell has criticised Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni stating that he is a “serial offender” in India’s prolonged lean patch away from home and he has failed to inspire the team. Speaking on the back of India’s 1-3 Test series loss to England from a position of strength, Chappell pointed out that India did not put up a fight against the home side and never learnt from their previous tours.

"There's no disgrace in losing; it's part of cricketing life. However, what is disgraceful is failing to compete to the best of your ability and continuing to make the same mistakes. That's what India have done for the bulk of their last two visits to the UK and their most recent tour of Australia," he wrote in his column for ESPNcricinfo.

India raised hopes of a series victory in England after achieving a historic win at Lord’s in the second match of the tour only to meekly surrender the next three.

"That (Lord’s win) should have been the springboard to a spirited attempt to stretch that lead but instead it became the top step on the slippery dip to oblivion," added Chappell.

Warns India ahead of Australia tour

The renowned columnist also predicted another heavy defeat against Australia later this season if the Indians continue to underperform.

"If India continue to bat, bowl and field poorly and fail to compete at full throttle under Dhoni's lackluster captaincy, then another capitulation is certain to follow against a highly competitive Australian outfit," stated Chappell echoing Glenn McGrath’s views.

Indian went down again after suffering whitewashes in England and Australia on their previous tours and the 70-year-old was critical on the Indian skipper for the outcome.

"Dhoni is a serial offender in those Indian debacles. In all three cases - the first two full series and the last three Tests of the recent capitulation - his captaincy failed to inspire the team,” blamed the former player.

Slip Fielding

India put down plenty of offerings behind the wickets and a few edges even bisected the first slip and wicket-keeper Dhoni. It turned from bad to worse as the let off batsmen continued to score plenty of runs on more than one occasion. India tried different combinations in the slip cordon, but none proved effective.

"First slip is a hazardous zone because Dhoni has given up attempting to catch anything other than a straightforward gift on the batsman's off side. Not only does his inactivity serve to narrow the reach of the slip cordon, it also creates confusion in the mind of the first-slip fielder," claimed Chappell.

Selection issues

Commenting on India’s preferred choices of players, he questioned the logic behind the utilization of Stuart Binny and played down the effectiveness of Ravindra Jadeja as the specialist spinner.

"I've never been a believer in the captain having a vote on selection; a say, yes, but a vote, no. In this latest series Dhoni provided ample proof why. His selection of Stuart Binny as an all-rounder was ludicrous. Then, as if his sole aim had been to prove that point, his treatment of the player was baffling. Binny was rarely used as a bowler despite batting at No.8.

"To pick Ravindra Jadeja as a front-line spinner is a serious miscasting. Then Dhoni proceeded to use Jadeja as a stop-gap trundler in Southampton in what looked like an attempt to prove he wasn't a front-line spin bowler," he said.

Chappell however was unsure of thrusting the captaincy on a struggling Virat Kohli. It can be noted he called it to be the right time for Kohli to come in as captain following the first Test of the series.

"One of India's biggest headaches is finding a replacement for Dhoni as Test captain, following the repeated batting failures of his logical successor Virat Kohli," he further wrote.