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A better strategist and tactician
Dada showed great tactical acumen
Dhoni is known for making strange decisions and when those worked, he was regarded a genius. But what was overlooked was the much larger number of moves that backfired.
Placing a deep third man for Alastair Cook when Amit Mishra bowled to him from around the wicket at Edgbaston in 2011, the introduction of Rohit Sharma into the attack at key moments in the must-win match against South Africa in the 2012 World T20 and the disastrous rotation policy with the openers in the 2012 Tri-series in Australia are just three prime examples.
His supporters will cite instances when his surprise moves worked but when you look at the number of times it didn’t, it becomes clear that Dhoni was often just rolling the dice rather than having any proper plan in mind.
In contrast, Ganguly’s brave decisions (eg. promoting Sehwag to open in Tests, promoting Laxman to No. 3 in the famous Kolkata Test of 2001) were based on proper analysis that he has explained since becoming a commentator.
His sharp analysis of the game in that capacity reveals great tactical nous and a brilliant strategic mind. He made calculated decisions to suit the team’s interests while Dhoni just went along with his gut instincts.
