5 reasons why MS Dhoni should step aside from T20Is

A decade ago, Mahendra Singh Dhoni was the epitome of a T20 batsman. His power hitting, captaincy, the efficiency with which he finished games and, of course, his ability to keep the scoreboard ticking made him a limited overs and T20 cricket icon.

However, time catches up with all icons eventually and although Dhoni’s performances could be classified as ‘efficient’, he is no longer the player he used to be. Here are 5 reasons why it might just be the right time for him to step aside from the T20 squad.

#1 No longer a power-hitting batsman

At the peak of his powers, MS Dhoni was one of the most feared batsmen in T20 cricket. He could run fielders ragged and then turn the match on its head whenever he wanted with powerful hits to the boundary.

However, it is his reputation that now precedes him and the swashbuckling, calculating batsman who used to win psychological battles against the fielding side is no longer there. Tight chases often fall short and attempts to hit sixes are often foiled just when the team needs the big runs.

In T20 cricket -- a format of the game that depends on very fine margins due to the short duration of the game -- it is not possible for a team to accommodate such a batsman. India needs to think beyond Dhoni, he is no longer the saviour.

#2 Running between the wickets

Dhoni's completes a single

Now, no one is suggesting that Dhoni has become a slow runner or is unfit, but currently, he is making certain tweaks to his technique that might affect one of his biggest strengths. As ESPN Cricinfo's Siddharth Monga pointed out in a recent article, Dhoni is now batting with heavier pads which have one fewer strap and allows him to bend the knee properly while making an initial back and across movement.

Heavier pads will almost certainly affect his running between the wickets. His dot ball percentage is on the rise in ODIs and slowly but surely it would seep into his T20 game. Dot balls combined with slower running in T20s is a tough sell. It is about time, Dhoni called it a day in T20s and give it all in the ODI format.

#3 Others waiting in the wings

Rishabh Pant has what it takes to suceed Dhoni

When MS Dhoni took over the captaincy he mercilessly got rid of senior members of the team who he thought weren’t exactly meant for modern day limited overs cricket and he was handsomely rewarded for his convictions.

In the same way, it is about time for India to blood youngsters who are waiting in the wings. While it is naive to believe that India would never be able to unearth a ‘new MSD’, players like Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson should be tried.

As of now, Rishabh Pant seems to be the team management’s choice but Team India does have the luxury of trying out plenty of wicketkeeper-batsmen before settling on a long term project.

#4 Indian team could be left in the lurch for years

India need to groom an able replacement for Dhoni

Great teams are extremely efficient as far as succession planning is concerned and if India’s T20 team wants to be a world beater then it should do the same. That is something that should not only be restricted to easing out MS Dhoni from the side but succession in other areas of the team as well, when the time comes.

If the team continues to play him without trying out replacements then they would be in the lurch when Dhoni finally calls it a day. He occupies an extremely important position in the batting order and finding replacements without grooming anyone for the job will be disastrous for the team’s long term T20 future.

It is a tough call, of course, but good teams do not shy away from those.

#5 Dhoni needs to protect his legacy

MSD has a legacy to protect

MS Dhoni is one of India’s greatest ever captains and cricketers, however, watching him struggle in a format of the game that he had mastered is not going to do any favour to his legacy.

The cricket watching public will always remember the last years of his career in which he struggled to live up to his own standards as a T20 cricketer and refused to make way for a youngster.

No cricket fan would want one of India’s greatest cricketers to have such a legacy. He retired from Test cricket back in 2014 when he realised that his time was up and lived up to Vijay Merchant’s axiom on retirement, 'Retire, when people ask why? And not, when they ask why not?’. He should do the same with regards to his T20 career.