Indian fans need to back Dhoni now more than ever

Dhoni couldn’t get the ‘job done’ this time

The team is on course to chase down 304, one man has made half of it by himself and the rest fail to go past the finishing line. Who is getting all the blame? No brainer, it’s the Indian captain who has received stick from his countrymen yet again. Was he at fault? Of course he was!

India needed 90 runs from the last 60 deliveries when he came in to bat and he used up exactly half of it to make only 31. He took his time initially and couldn’t execute the big shots when needed. He even changed his technique. Dabbed the ball around to pick up two runs every ball, even played an uncharacteristic scoop shot to fetch his only boundary of the innings.

11 runs were needed off the last over. You usually back Dhoni in these situations but unfortunately, he couldn't launch even a single delivery beyond the fence. He tried till the end but failed against a 20-year-old newcomer.

That’s it! The cursing began with calls for his ouster from the side. A former Indian fast bowler just hit the headlines a couple of days ago for questioning Dhoni’s spot in the side. Now he garnered a lot of support for his statement.

He has seen it all

Nothing new though for the Indian skipper as he has seen it all over the years. 2007-2011 was the period where he enjoyed tremendous success. Post the 2011 England tour, life hasn’t been easy! Every single move and every single loss has been scrutinised.

He never gave up though and kept going. 2013 came in at the right time as he began the year with a bang. Scored his first double hundred in Tests and led the side to a 4-0 win over Australia in the Test series at home. That was followed by the Champions Trophy triumph in England and things started looking rosy again until the 2014 T20 World Cup where India reached the final.

One thing that remained constant throughout these topsy-turvy years was his batting form. No one questioned Dhoni’s spot in the ODI team. And then came the Test series in Australia during which he retired from the format (expectedly) and the World Cup. India reached the semi-final but it wasn’t enough.

Dhoni ‘the batsman’ wasn’t threatening anymore. The rut began in the tri-series involving Australia and England where he failed to make an impact.

And then post the World Cup, he revealed his intentions to groom a new number 6 so that he can bat at 4 at the fag end of his career. He made 47 and 69 against Bangladesh, but India surprisingly lost the series which invited more pressure.

Dwindling numbers?

Dhoni's ODI numbers over the years

Year	Innings	Runs	Average	Strike-rate
2005	24	895	49.72	103.11
2006	26	821	41.05	92.97
2007	33	1103	44.12	89.60
2008	26	1097	57.73	82.29
2009	24	1198	70.47	85.57
2010	17	600	46.15	78.94
2011	22	764	58.76	89.88
2012	14	524	65.50	87.62
2013	20	753	62.75	96.04
2014	10	418	52.25	92.07
2015	13	459	41.72	84.22

Only once in the last 11 years, his strike-rate had dropped below 80 in a calendar year, but he averaged 46 that time and his average of 41.72 this year has not been bettered only once before this (in 2006), but once again he made it up with a strike-rate of 92.97.

So quite clearly, this is the worst phase of his career with the bat. How he manages to average 41 with a strike-rate of 84 even in this worst phase is another story. But he is quite clearly nowhere near his best. Those boundaries aren’t coming at will anymore. He is lacking in confidence.

Back him now before it gets too late

But is he on the decline like most of the fans predict?

Maybe he is, but he doesn’t need our judgement now. What he does need is our support and backing! As fans, it is time we give him his space. In these 11 years, this is the first time a question mark has been raised on his batting form in ODIs.

Fans can be fickle at times, we have never spared anyone including the great Sachin Tendulkar. But we must allow Dhoni to go past this phase. Or at least give him the chance to fight through it.

Indian cricket hasn’t come across many selfless cricketers over the years, but he is one! He will know exactly when to walk out just like he did with his Test career. He has already given a clear indication that we might not see him in Indian colours post the T20 World Cup next year in India.

Even though he cannot be allowed to take his spot for granted until then, just support him in what probably is the hardest phase of his cricketing career where he is not only struggling to get some runs, but some wins as well.

Instead, all we see is calls for his immediate exclusion from the side so that Virat can take over. For a man who has been so selfless over the years and for someone who has achieved what most of the cricketers around the globe can only dream of, he has loads of haters in his own country shockingly.

Has he lost it completely? Nope! He still managed to hit 17 sixes in this year’s IPL. He had a great outing in his 1st competitive match recently after three months even though it was a charity game. So probably it’s just a matter of time. Or maybe the uncertainty surrounding his batting position is affecting his game.

Most of us have failed in something or the other in life, but we tried without having a billion heads watch over us constantly. Give Dhoni the same luxury! Whether he comes out of it or not, doesn’t matter because he will quit at the ‘right time’.

For someone who has always put personal interests aside for the team’s sake, he will certainly walk away the moment he becomes a burden.

For now, just celebrate the genius in whatever little time he has left in the international scene instead of deriding him.