As if the preposterous mudslinging the RPS Owner Sanjiv Goenka’s brother Harsh Goenka is indulged in wasn’t enough, Sourav Ganguly, former India Captain, stoked the already insipid fire by saying, “I doubt if Mahendra Singh Dhoni is a good T20 Player”. While we agree Dada’s statement isn’t mindless criticism like Harsh Goenka’s and won’t irk MSD fans like Goenka did, we still feel Dada isn’t completely bang on with his analysis of the legendary, who too was India’s Captain until he recently gave up the limited-overs Captaincy and passed it on to Virat Kohli. Dada, as Sourav Ganguly is lovingly called, went on to acknowledge that MSD is a champion Cricketer when it comes to 50-over Cricket.
Dada’s analysis is based completely on statistics, that too if you consider only international T20 where Mahendra Singh Dhoni has played 76 games and scored 1209 runs at an average of 36.63, striking at a respectable 123.49, and a lone fifty that came recently against England. Talk about IPL and MSD has a staggering 3299 runs off 146 games at an average of 38.81 and an incredible strike-rate of 137.97 with 16 fifties. While MSD’s IPL record is phenomenal, his international record isn’t too bad either. 1209 runs at an average of 36.63 and a strike-rate of 123.49 isn’t a bad equation by any stretch of the imagination, especially considering the fact that Dhoni, the Captain, led the Team brilliantly and kept wickets like no one else could. When we normally make a case for Gayle as the best T20 Cricketer, we don’t just consider his international T20 record, which again, is underwhelming when pitted against his Twenty20 record.
Still, even if we consider only international T20s, either of MSD’s captaincy or wicket-keeping skills help him get an entry if he also scores at 36+, striking at more than 123. We can’t help but remember Mike Brearley, the intrinsic English Captain who had a poor batting record but still cemented his place in the Team considering his extraordinary leadership skills.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni has had a poor IPL so fat, with the Bat. We hope he turns it around soon and proves Dada wrong.
