BCCI reprimands Dhoni for his comments on coach Fletcher’s future.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni has always been the blue eyed boy of the BCCI. But it seems even that relationship, the strongest ever between a captain of the Indian team and the cricket board, comes with an expiry date. BCCI has taken a strong objection to Dhoni’s support for the under fire coach Duncan Fletcher, in a press conference at Bristol, prior to the washed out first One Day International between India and England.
When questioned about Duncan Fletcher’s future as the coach of the Indian cricket team, which was under doubt with the appointment of Ravi Shastri as the Indian team director, Dhoni was unequivocal in his support, saying, “he will lead us into the World Cup. Also he is still the boss. We have Ravi Shastri who will look into everything, but Fletcher is the boss. It’s not as if his powers or his position have been curtailed. I don’t know what you feel from the outside, but operations still remain the same. We have a few other support staff coming into the dressing room, but overall the operation remains the same.”
There was also confusion over Ravi Shastri’s role. Shastri had said that the coaching staff, which included the head coach, Duncan Fletcher would report to him. This follows the exit of Indian team’s foreign fielding and bowling coaches – Trevor Penney and Joe Dawes, and following their replacement by Indian coaches, Sanjay Bangar, Bharat Arun and R.Shridhar.
Dhoni however insisted that Fletcher was the boss, not Shastri: “Ravi is here to oversee the operations from the outside, what he feels and everything else. It’s good to have him. He is a very proud (former) Indian cricketer, and at the same time, very positive. He believes a lot in fighting and having the right instincts, going over and giving his hundred percent. It is obviously good to have him. He also speaks the same language and can interact a lot with the players. Same is the case with other support staff so it is good to have them here.”
This has only had the effect of causing the BCCI to seethe at Dhoni, who they feel is overstepping his authority, a right which he certainly doesn’t have, in their opinion, after India’s horrible loss in the Investec Test series, which follows a series of losses by Dhoni in Test matches outside India.
A top BCCI official said, “Dhoni is no one to comment as to who is the boss of the team. It’s not his domain. What happened is very disappointing and unbecoming of an Indian captain. The matter will come up for discussion at the next working committee meeting of the board. Obviously, Dhoni has overstepped his brief as an Indian captain. The media can ask him any question but being a matured cricketer, he should know what his lines are. Just like BCCI officials are not going to decide who is in the playing XI, Dhoni does not decide who is going to stay till what time.”
The turn of events has been most surprising and it is so unlike MS Dhoni to involve himself in a confrontation with his bosses. Perhaps the Indian captain has once again let his loyalties get in the way of good sense. Last time he did such a thing was when he got himself involved in the Ravindra Jadeja and James Anderson conflagration, putting his prestige on the line to get Anderson punished for his alleged transgression. Anderson, of course, got away without any sanction, only to be fired up and come back stronger in the remaining matches, and was the main factor behind England’s demolition of India.
Clearly, “Captain Cool” MS Dhoni has lost his famous touch and making all the wrong moves. Already there are a plenty of questions in India regarding his lackadaisical attitude to captaining India. With the BCCI angry too, it seems that Dhoni’s days at the top – he reportedly makes $30 million a year and is the sixth richest sportsman in the world – are numbered.
