Will he or won't he? MS Dhoni says 'wait and watch' for decision on captaincy

MS Dhoni gave an open-ended reply to a query about his future as Indian captain after 1-3 loss to England

Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Sunday told mediapersons in the post-match press conference to ‘wait and watch to find out’ about his future as Indian captain after his side’s embarrassing 1-3 series loss to England.

“You will have to wait and watch to find out whether I am strong enough to cope with this loss or not,” Dhoni said in reply to a question whether he was contemplating resigning after the series loss.

The Indian skipper has come under scathing attack from many quarters for his failure to arrest the team’s slide after Lord’s victory. Since then India lost all 3 Tests, losing the series after having taken an unexpected lead.

More than the losses, the abject surrender of India’s famed batting line-up has raised eyebrows. In their last 5 innings in England, India folded out for scores of 178, 152, 161, 148 and 94, with all England bowlers making merry at different stages of the series.

The lack of fight shown by India’s top order and Dhoni’s confusing tactics in the field have been the biggest cause of concern for many, with calls for the departure of the captain-coach combination of Dhoni and Duncan Fletcher growing strong.

When asked if he had taken India as far as he could and done enough as the captain, Dhoni curtly replied, “Maybe, yes.”

The usually calm 33-year-old however lost his cool when questions drifted to IPL’s impact on Indian cricketers and their ability to cope with difficult batting conditions. “Ask the BCCI. Don’t be jealous of IPL,” Dhoni replied agitatedly.

Disappointed at lack of fight

However, Dhoni accepted the batsmen had failed miserably after his side’s back to back 3-day defeats in the series.

“It's a reflection of the batting order that has not done well. Murali Vijay has done well but right from the first Test we have not been able to get a good opening partnership.

“Cheteshwar Pujara was early to the middle because of that in the 3rd or 4th over itself in every innings. It kept exposing our number three batsman and Virat Kohli went through a lean patch,” Dhoni said.

Having earlier admitted that lower order contributions were saving India at the beginning of the series with many top order batsmen failing to make the most of their starts, Dhoni said as India’s lower order failed to put up resistance as the series progressed, the scores got worse.

“If you are playing with six batsmen, including the keeper it makes it a bit tough if you lose that many wickets upfront. When the lower order scored runs we made 300-plus totals and once they too got out cheaply then we struggled to put runs on the board,” he said.

Dhoni ended up as India’s second highest run-scorer in the series, but his tactics in the field remained baffling

Though disappointed, the skipper was however hopeful that these young batsmen who are on their first full fledged Test tour to the country, will only learn from this experience.

“Yes, we are disappointed that we couldn't offer any fight in the last three Test matches. Hopefully, the batsmen will take positive out of this defeat when they come back here, all of them are young and good enough to come back here, and do better,” he added.

“Don’t embarrass your country”

Ex-Indian skipper and batting great Sunil Gavaskar was furious at India’s lack of fight in the series and lambasted MS Dhoni on BBC TMS.

“I don't know what to say. What can you say? You can get angry, say harsh things, but what good will it do? If you do not want to be playing Test cricket for India, quit. Just play limited-overs cricket. You should not be embarrassing your country like that,” Gavaskar said on Sunday.