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MS Dhoni-- A Mediocre Test Captain at Best
Mahendra Singh Dhoni announced his immediate retirement from Test Cricket quietly after the drawn test against Australia. It was indeed a Practical End to a Practical man's Test Career. A man who carried on with his business quietly, never saying anything, letting the World talk aimlessly. Dhoni grew as a player, as a man when he was given the captaincy of the test outfit. The level of Calmness, Composure & Maturity shown by him was untouchable. This brought an end to a glorious test career spanning almost a decade.
For some, He was a Legend, for others He was just an ordinary guy who got Lucky more often than not. For me, He was a mix of both. While his Captaincy performances in ODIs & T20s have been exemplary, his test record does not indicate the truth behind it.
Let us first go through some of his Highs & Lows as a Test Captain:-
Highs
- India achieved number 1 Test ranking for 18 months starting from December 2009.
- Captained in 60 of the 90 tests he played for India.
- Had a winning percentage of 45%.
- Crossed Saurav Ganguly's record of 21 Test wins to become India's most successful captain.
- Won home series against Australia in 2008, England in 2008-09, Sri Lanka in 2009-10, Australia and New Zealand in 2010-11, and the West Indies in 2011-12 and 2013-14 respectively.
- Whitewashed Australia 4-0 in Border Gavaskar Trophy in 2013 played at Home.
- Defeated New Zealand 1-0 in New Zealand.
- Dominated in Home Tests.
- Built the careers of many young players even if it meant compromising some Legends.
Lows
- India won only 4 out of 25 tests outside sub-continent under MS Dhoni.
- Whitewashed 4-0 by England in 2011 in England.
- Whitewashed 4-0 by Australia in 2011-12 in Australia.
- Lost 1-2 to England in 2012 after gaining a lead of 1-0 in Home series.
- Lost 1-3 to England in 2014 after gaining a lead of 1-0.
- Criticized for too much defensive captaincy in Tests.
- Never scored a Hundred outside Asia. Failed to inspire team to victory overseas unlike Ganguly.
- 8 Consecutive Test Losses.
- One more away Loss would have held him at par with Stephen Fleming for most number of away test losses as Captain.
All these points I made are only pertaining to Test Cricket. His biggest achievement remains Leading India to Number 1 Test Ranking built on a series of home dominance and performances by the Golden Generation & himself. Thus, making him a Mediocre Test Captain at best. MS Dhoni is a perfect example of "Zero to Hero", "Fortune favors the Brave" & "An ordinary man rising through the Ranks to Lead his Country to Glory".
Regardless of the stats, Dhoni will be remembered for many years to come & it will be very challenging for Captains of the coming generations to surpass his achievements.
We wish him the Best for Indian Team's title defense in the World Cup 2015 hoping that he will once again provide some moments of Joy for Indian fans, after all changing formats does wonder for him! ;)
We wish him the Best for Indian Team's title defense in the World Cup 2015 hoping that he will once again provide some moments of Joy for Indian fans, after all changing formats does wonder for him! ;)
Kallis calls Quit on International Career
Jacques Kallis retires from all forms of International Cricket
Jacques Henry Kallis, one of the greatest all-rounders the game has ever seen, announced his retirement from Test cricket last year though he had planned to finish his career at the ICC Cricket World Cup next year in Australia/New Zealand in February-March.
However, he surprisingly decided to call it quits on a glorious One_day Career as well just 6 months before the Cricket Extravaganza.
"I realised in Sri Lanka that my dream of playing in a World Cup was a bridge too far," he said.
"I just knew on that tour that I was done. The squad that was in Sri Lanka is an amazing one and I believe they have a good chance of bringing the trophy home in March.
"I would like to thank Cricket South Africa, the team, the team sponsors, my sponsors, the fans and all the people who have been involved in my career. It has been an amazing journey."
Kallis will still play Cricket at Club Level though.
"I am not retiring from all cricket as I have a two-year contract with the Sydney Thunder and, if possible, to help the Kolkata Knight Riders defend the IPL title we won earlier this year," he said.
Kallis is the only cricketer to have piled on more than 11,000 runs & take 250 wickets in both Test & ODI cricket.
He truly was a pillar of strength in the South African team for more than a decade. He ends his ODI career with 11,579 runs in 328 matches including 17 hundreds at an astonishing average of 44.36
"He is undeniably one of the greatest players ever to have graced our wonderful game and he has certainly been the Proteas standard-bearer of excellence for nearly two decades." said Cricket South Africa chief executive Haroon Lorgat.
"South Africa has been blessed with one of the world's greatest cricketing talents in Jacques Kallis,"
Germany Captain Lahm retires from International Football
Phillip Lahm Retires
Berlin: just days after leading his side to World Cup glory in Brazil, Germany captain Philipp Lahm has quit international soccer.
"It is the right time for me. I have totally enjoyed my time with the national team," the 30-year-old was quoted as saying on Sky Sport Deutschland's Twitter feed on Friday.
German soccer federation (DFB) website (www.dfb.de) confirmed the shock news.
DFB president Wolfgang Niersbach said: "Philipp called me this morning and personally told me the news. Very quickly into the conversation I realised that it was futile to try to change his mind.
"He was not only an outstanding player in his 10 years with the national team but always a perfect role model. I thanked him for all that he has done for the DFB."
Lahm, who played his last of 113 caps in the 1-0 victory over Argentina will continue playing for club side Bayern Munich.
"There is hardly a better farewell than to be a world champion at the peak of your career," Bayernchairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said of Lahm's resignation on the club website.
"But for the national team, it will not be easy to replace Lahm as a player, captain and a man."
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