2011 started really brightly for India, winning the ICC Cricket World Cup after 28 years was a dream come true for not only the Indian team, but for the whole nation. But that was when the transformation was needed. The next two away series in 2011 saw India been thumped down by England and Australia both in test and ODI series. That was the time when MS Dhoni brought the point of axing the seniors and bringing in the youth, knowing that in two years time they had to travel to England again for the Champions Trophy before the 2015 World Cup in Australia began. So, now we will see what prompted MS Dhoni to take these decisions and were these decisions correct or not?
According to me, the decision to axe the seniors was a good one and for the benefit and long term future of the Indian cricket team. During the away tours in England and Australia, the Indian team were hammered both in tests and in ODIs. The test series defeats were acceptable because of the fact that the Indian batting lacked technique to play in tough English conditions and couldn’t handle the swinging ball from James Anderson and Stuart Broad. But the main problem were the ODI defeats. With the seniors not too good in fielding and with the bowlers not having enough pace on offer, the system had to change. With the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli given more opportunities and them performing well and with their amazing fielding skills were big assets for the team as a whole. Not to forget the role played by Suresh Raina, with both his batting and bowling and also with his amazing fielding skills. The time had arrived for a change.
Not to forget that the bowlers also had to be changed. For a long period of time India had seen only medium pace bowlers emerging and spinners were to be depended upon even when travelling abroad. That had to change and that’s what MS Dhoni did with the emergence of new fast bowlers in the domestic circuit and also in the Indian team. That’s why we now see a pace battery consisting of Ishant Sharma, Shami, Bhuvi, Umesh Yadav and Bumrah reeling down batsman all around the world. So, the change was for the betterment of the Indian cricket.
With the changes made, the result was their to see for everyone. India won the 2013 Champions Trophy is emphatic style with the youngsters coming to the helm. The change to make Rohit Sharma open the innings was a master stroke by Dhoni not only for Indian cricket but also for Rohit Sharma himself, making or should I say turning him into a world class opener. The emergence of all the fast bowlers mentioned above is because they were given due chances and now they are performing their best for the country, under Virat Kohli also. So, in the end I would like to say that what MS Dhoni has done for Indian cricket is tremendous, be it with his bat or captaincy or thinking of the future, taking such difficult decisions and making sure that Indian cricket is at the top.
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