There could not have been a bigger coincidence in how the first two matches went. IPL 2021, Phase II ended in the UAE. And, the results of the two matches only confirmed the appointment of BCCI Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the guardian of Virat Kohli-Led by the Indian team for the ICC T20 World Cup to be held in the Emirates next month.
As IPL 2021 resumes after more than four-and-a-half months, Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings not only posted a healthy 156/6, but also four to register a 20-run win against defending champions Mumbai. Great comeback of 24 runs on the wicket. Indians, thanks to a large extent for Dhoni’s shrewd captaincy, field placement and having faith in his bowlers and getting them at the right time.
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On the second day of the IPL’s resumption, Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore were in a similar position, though got off to a better start than CSK, but were bowled out for 92 runs due to a batting collapse and lost to Kolkata Knight Riders by nine wickets . There is no doubt that Dhoni’s CSK personnel are different from RCB’s.
Kohli could not do much in the defense of only 92 runs. But if he finds himself in a similar situation while leading India in the T20 World Cup, additional inputs from Dhoni will have to come up with more ideas to attack the current captain.
It could be argued that if Dhoni had led RCB on Monday against KKR after posting 92, he might have done something differently, maybe field placement at the attacking positions. Be that the batsmen have done the unimaginable, and in the process got up. Wicket. Dhoni may or may not have led his team to victory.
It is not for nothing that the titles that Dhoni has won be it in the inaugural edition of 2007 ICC T20 World Cup and 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup for Team India or IPL and Champions League titles for Chennai Super Kings. Kohli was not lucky as captain in the 2019 Cricket World Cup or the ICC World Test Championship final in June this year. Kohli has not been able to lead RCB to IPL victories since Daniel Vettori took over as captain in 2013.
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Dhoni and Kohli have only one thing in common in terms of achievements as captains of India, taking India to the No. 1 Test rank in their respective stints and proudly bagging the ICC Mace – 2009 Dhoni in 2018 and Kohli in 2018. Also, of course, their quick running between the wickets, trust in each other’s abilities and mutual respect for each other’s achievements.
Dhoni’s cricketing prowess is something that has put him and his team ahead of the opposition on most occasions. His reading of the game from outside the boundary is as sharp as when he is donning wicket-keeping gloves or changing them to batting gloves and counting run chases and bowlers in pursuit of victory. target to.
Of course, there have been occasions when Dhoni’s strategy hasn’t worked, but in the current circumstances, especially with luck not favoring Kohli at ICC events, Dhoni’s input as a mentor has certainly helped India’s opportunities. Will increase Dhoni has seen it all and done it all as both India and CSK captain.
Even after relinquishing the captaincy of Team India in 2017, Dhoni was in charge of the game from behind the wickets and his successor allowed him to change the field placement while working on the boundaries, even if it meant Dhoni moving Kohli slightly to the left . or the right to his position.
Both Dhoni and Kohli have different captaincy styles. No doubt. Of course, no two captains are the same in their style of work. But luck also plays an important role, taking decisions that often work for Dhoni and not so much for Kohli.
Kohli has shown his best performance as a batsman since taking over the captaincy from Dhoni, first in Tests in 2015 and then in white-ball cricket in early 2017. Perhaps, playing regularly in all three formats has taken a toll in itself. While batting, he has gone 21 Test and 15 ODI innings without scoring three points. Now that Kohli has decided to step down from the captaincy of both Team India and RCB T20Is – a decision coming within a span of four days of each other – he should do a world good as he can freely play the captaincy without burdening him further. Can bat.
What if Kohli resigns from the T20 captaincy of both Team India and RCB with immediate effect and does not wait till the end of T20 World Cup and IPL respectively? The extra burden may have gone straight off his shoulders and he certainly would have batted freely for India on Monday and in the rest of this season’s IPL matches and the T20 World Cup. It is not that Kohli did not try and India could not win the ICC title under his leadership. Maybe luck was not on his side or maybe some of his tricks didn’t work.
Not that the captaincy hasn’t changed half-hands through an IPL edition in the past. Rohit Sharma, the most successful IPL captain, got the captaincy reins from Ricky Ponting after the start of IPL 2013. And, the team’s fortunes have changed for the better. Rohit is the front runner for India’s T20 captaincy after the World Cup and his captaincy is different from both Dhoni and Kohli.
Rohit didn’t let the burden of captaincy affect his batting – neither in the IPL nor in the limited opportunities that he has led India in ODIs and T20Is.
It is also possible that Kohli could lead RCB and India to title wins and relinquish the captaincy – both titles he has not yet received as captain. This would be a perfect scenario.
And, for Dhoni’s input as a mentor, could you have asked for a better set up? Kohli’s aggression, head coach’s Ravi Shastri’s confidence and Dhoni’s calm and calm mind – this could be the surefire recipe for Team India’s success in the T20 World Cup.
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