Rahane’s 91–ball 60 and Dhoni’s 114–ball 54 in the fourth ODI against West Indies suggest both the batsmen are playing for their own place in the team, rather than to win matches for India….
Team India’s shocking defeat against West Indies in the fourth ODI resulted many questions. The most burning is that are Anjikya Rahane and MS Dhoni playing selfishly?
Well, Their recent knocks suggest that their priority is to get a 50+ score first and then go for the push. They are not playing according to team’s requirement and it seems, first, they just want to make a decent score, regardless of how many delieviers they consumes.
Does it have to do with the insecurity about their place in the side? It seems. There are strong contenders for the opener’s slot and there is every chance of Rahane will not find a place in the team, once Rohit will be back. He is a batsman with sound technique, but he has simply been too slow for shorter formats of the game. If a batsman has taken his time to settle down and consumed several overs it is only expected that he would stay back to complete the run chase. It’s not happening in Rahane’s case.
Dhoni on the other hand, has been the greatest finisher of the modern cricket. But these days he seems to have got into the habit of dragging the match to the end overs with slow batting, so slow that one is left wondering whether it is the same Dhoni of yore who just blasted the opposite team out of the game with such ease.
When he plays 114 balls, nearly 20 overs, you expect him to win the match for the team. But that was not the case yesterday. In fact, that has not been the case in recent times. Like Rahane, he seems to be intent on getting a good personal score first before bringing the team into the picture. Is this his desperation to be in contention for the 2019 World Cup? Well, perhaps.
Yuvraj Singh, once the undisputed king of team India’s middle order, has largely been struggling for consistency since his comeback to the team. On most of the occasions, he seems a batsman who past his prime. With youngsters like Rishabh Pant warming the bench, selectors will have to decide whether Yuvraj Singh fits in their schemes for 2019 world cup.
Ravindra Jadeja case is much more strange. In test format, he is one of the most consistent match winner for the team, with his spot on bowling and batting as well, though occasionally. But, in ODI cricket, he is ineffective, to be honest. His bowling is not more than a time pass option in ODI cricket, and he earned a reputation of “master of headless batting” in crunch situations, as he often throws his wicket away, by trying to hit the ball out of the stadium!
Whatever the case, such batting does not help the cause of the team. It does not help that the likes of Rahane and Dhoni are playing for their own rather than for the team cause. It does not help that Ravindra Jadeja and Yuvraj Singh have been less than consistent with their batting. The big question before the selectors should now be whether Dhoni, Yuvraj and Rahane, Jadeja should be in the one-day squad in the first place.
It’s time for introspection for team India’s think tank!
