MS Dhoni should not go anywhere- why India need him in T20 team too

“You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain,” says Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight. 

This line kept coming back to my mind when I saw all the recent criticism directed at MS Dhoni. The former Indian captain is facing a lot of flak ever since he failed to guide his team to victory in the Rajkot T20 International last Saturday. 

Dhoni made 49 runs off 37 balls in the match and finished with a strike rate of a 132 at the end. However, most of these runs came 'too little too late' as India finished 40 runs shy of the New Zealand total. 

Dhoni's inability to rotate strike and his slow strike rate in the early part of his innings prompted many to raise questions about his selection in the squad.

Former Indian cricketers like VVS Laxman and Ajit Agarkar said that India should look beyond MS Dhoni for the T20 format.

The arguement is simple: Dhoni takes some time to settle before he starts firing and in T20 there is no time. 

A point well made. 

So, is it time for MS Dhoni to go? Has the man, who led India to the 2007 T20 World Cup, overstayed his welcome? Has the hero become a villain? 

In my humble opinion, the answer is 'No'. 

MS Dhoni is still essential to the Indian cricket team. It is true that the wicketkeeper-batsman is no longer the force of nature he used to be. He wouldn't win you all the matches like he used to earlier. 

But what Dhoni still does is that he tries to win you the match- he takes responsibility. In the last over against New Zealand he refused to take the single to hand over the strike to Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He knew he had failed to win the match but still wanted the crowd to have something to take home. So, instead of trying to take a single and get his second T20 half-century, he tried to hit another big one and got out.

It is amazing that people are blaming Dhoni for the loss, when other than Virat Kohli (and Shreyas Iyer), no Indian batsman scored runs that day. Hardik Pandya, a man who goes after it from the first ball unlike today's Dhoni, was out cheaply. Both openers had a rare failure in recent days. And New Zealand bowled pretty well. We had given a little too many runs. It was a collective failure against a very good T20 team.

There is no denying that Dhoni didn't bat well that day- he was restricted by the Kiwi spinners and found it hard to rotate the strike. 

It is quite possible that if Dhoni had got out cheaply instead of playing an awkward inning, no one would be talking about him. Instead he tried and failed. Guess what- that happens in cricket. 

There is no harm in looking for options- we must have alternatives waiting in the wing to replace senior talent. But to demand Dhoni's head on a platter (a T20 special platter) is simply a case of simplifying things.

Even if Dhoni is not his earlier fearsome self anymore, he brings a lot to the table. He is a senior player with great sense of the game, he is still a very good wicketkeeper and he can still bat.

Also who can replace Dhoni? Dinesh Karthik is almost the same age, Rishabh Pant failed to prove himself despite getting chances and Wriddhiman Saha is still coming to grips with his role in the longer format- none of the options trump Dhoni's usefulness right now.

Those who are accusing Dhoni of blocking a young talent's place in the team seem to have a very short memory. 

MS Dhoni has always know how to step aside at the right time. He retired from Test cricket and surprised everyone because he felt the time was right. He stepped down from captaincy after Virat was ready to take over. He has never clinged to power and place like many others we know. 

As Virender Sehwag said, "Dhoni will step down at the right time. He will never block the way for any young cricketer."

Ever since he became the captain, Dhoni has settled into the role of the finisher- he has adopted the role of the 'grinder'- someone who puts down his head and does the heavy work. 

If Dhoni need time to settle these days, Team India could better use his abilities by promoting him up the order.

Or, they could tell him to go for it.  
 
Dhoni is quite capable of being hitter- we all know that.  If the current dymanics need Dhoni to play the role of hitter from the world go- then he should be told to do that exactly. 

As Sehwag rightly said, "Dhoni should realise his role in the team... the team management should make him understand this." 

Instead of thinking about his usefulness, India should use him better. If one thinks that Dhoni is broken- fix him, but don't rush to replace him. 

They hardly make players like him anymore.