Rahul Dravid steps down-What next ?

[sohum]

But on one hand we have arguably the best captain the game has ever seen taking into consideration the side he's been in charge of. Certainly the most capped one in ODI's and second on the list in Tests. Not only does he no longer have captaincy, but he also retired from ODI's.

And on the other hand, we have a fill-in captain who really doesn't warrent such a big fuss. I guess it's since it's India. New Zealand is ignored as always.

India's cricket-watching population is many, many times the entire population of New Zealand. Sheer probability dictates that more people will talk about this than about Fleming.

How much do people wager that India will go with a no-coach-no-captain formula.

 

[Animator!]

Your asking some much of Dhoni to still bat the way he does which requires a lot of netting and practise, Keep Wicket, again requiring a lot of practise and time, AND captain the side.

 

[jkartik]

Your asking some much of Dhoni to still bat the way he does which requires a lot of netting and practise, Keep Wicket, again requiring a lot of practise and time, AND captain the side.

btw....has gilly ever captained for aus ?? cause, one can compare his
track record as a captain for predecting dhoni's future

the coming tours are not against minnows or low-profile teams.
Aus touring India, Then Pak in india. and then india touring aus.
you just cant put an inexperienced captain against these teams.

i sincerely feel ganguly should be given the captaincy just for this season.
more like a stop-gap kinda thing. i dont believe that ganguly or tendulkar
for that matter captaining the team for a few months would hamper the GROOMING of dhoni, yuvraj etc..

 

[SaiSrini]

Well, I was one of those ones wanting to see Dravid step down and being relieved of the captaincy. I am happy to see this!

So what is the big games are coming up? India can invest on Yuvraj Singh. The seniors are seriously going to be there for the next two ODI series and Yuvraj will have the support of the seniors. Even if we lose the series, we can certainly have Yuvraj continue as captain allowing him to groom into the role. Actually, the fact that we are playing two ODI series at home should make it easier for Yuvraj because India tend to do well at home.

I go for Yuvraj even though Dhoni has been selected 20-20 captain. I wish Dravid good luck and hope to see him regain his deadly batting form that made him such a lynchpin of the Indian side.

 

[manee]

More likely you,ll get someone young then hound him out of a job next time you lose.

I do agree that Indian fans are the most intolerant of failure but Dravid has been criticised by pundits and fans alike for a little while now.

I guess it's going to be Dhoni.

Most likely.

MUMBAI: Mahendra Singh Dhoni is likely to replace Rahul Dravid as captain for ODIs after a sudden decision by Dravid to step down as captain.

Sachin Tendulkar is tipped to be captain for test matches, BCCI sources said.

Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1121443

 

[evertonfan]

Haha, Dhoni as captain. That's made my day.

 

[manee]

Haha, Dhoni as captain. That's made my day.

Why is that so funny to you. His batting may be comical in appearance but he seems to know when to slog and when to buckle down and he seems to be quite a knowledgable bloke based on interviews I have read/heard.

 

[evertonfan]

He just doesn't seem the type of character to make a good captain in my opinion. He's a playboy, playboy's don't make good captains. Plus I agree with what Kev says, as soon as he loses a game his head will be straight on the chopping block such is the fickle nature of a lot of Indian fans.

Also, asking him to wicket keep, captain and to be the pioneer of six hitting is practically ruining his career before it's properly started.

 

[manee]

He just doesn't seem the type of character to make a good captain in my opinion. He's a playboy, playboy's don't make good captains. Plus I agree with what Kev says, as soon as he loses a game his head will be straight on the chopping block such is the fickle nature of a lot of Indian fans.

Fickle, yes, but not as fickle as you guys think. People were requesting Dravid's stepping down as captain for a little while now. His decisions seem baffling and all in all, he seems like too much of a defensive captain. Indian fans were 90% happy with Ganguly as captain and Wright as coach.

I don't think Dhoni is as much of a playboy as you guys think, don't let the long hair fool you. From what I have heard, Yuvraj is India's playboy.

Also, asking him to wicket keep, captain and to be the pioneer of six hitting is practically ruining his career before it's properly started.

I am pretty sure that Karthik will keep in the event of Dhoni becoming captain in ODIs.

 

[ZoraxDoom]

Playboys don't make good skippers? Pah.
Besides, Dhoni aint a playboy. I too though he was, but I've really gained respect for him. He is honestly working hard, does is best, and isn't a flashy fool. His todays performance in the T20 shows that. Played solidly, took his time before exploding as wickets fell. He has shown a willingness to be more than a destructive hitter and to work on his keeping. And Greg Chappel said he has a good cricketing brain. Thats good enough for me. Flower was a brill keeper/bat/skipper, no reason Dhoni can't. If any keeper in modern cricket were to be skipper, Dhoni is right up there with Gilly and Sanga.

But I want Kaif. Plain and simple. From what I've read and heard and seen, he has a brill head on his shoulders and is a great tactician. A fabulous fielder, just what the team needs, and a batsman in the mould to replace Dravid. And isn't too old, or too inexperienced. Perfect. BCCI just need to pick him, and just take whatever backlash they get, cause it would be the right choice. They made a mistake not keeping him around the main team.

Ofcourse, we could go back to Dada, he was legendary, but he won't lead us in the WC 2011. And I'd rather India go skipperless instead of selecting Viru. Yuvi might do okay. Heck, he might insist on kaif coming back and bring a new era to Indian cricket, but I'll be backing Kaif and then Dhoni.

And trust me, I was really, really shocked at Fleming resigning from ODIs and being removed of captaincy. I would have though Styris or maybe even Marshall would have been captain, as they are likely to play in the WC2011, but spinners tend to have nice long careers and Vettori is a good cricketer, so not a bad choice. I don't really care that much though as I follow India more...

 

[evertonfan]

Hang on, how can you pick Kaif as captain when he isn't even in the team?! Surely you'd want an established player with a decent command of his dressing room?

Let's look at some present captains;

Vaughan - Played in the Test side for over 5 years before taking over from Nass.

Ponting - Again, was a mainstay in the Test side and was always the understudy to Waugh.

Sarwan - Same as the other two. Turned himself into a regular in the side and established himself as a key player.

Smith - Here is an exception and probably a doorway for Kaif. Smith had hardly played any cricket and was certainly not an established player, but South Africa had decided to go with youth after Pollock was a disaster.

Jayawardene - Regular. Established himself in the side etc etc.

Dravid - Same.

You've sort of discovered the common trend really.

 

[manee]

Hang on, how can you pick Kaif as captain when he isn't even in the team?! Surely you'd want an established player with a decent command of his dressing room?

Agree totally, Kaif is reportadly a great captain but needs a least six months in the team first methinks.

 

[evertonfan]

I am genuinely flummoxed by who your next captain should be. I can only really contemplate Karthick. But he's hardly a regular himself.

 

[ZoraxDoom]

India doesn't really have six months now, do they?

Everyone in the current team has played with him. Either by the A team or the regular team. Kaif is used to captaining Chawla, and has played a lot with Yuvraj, Sehwag, Pathan, Dravid, Sachin, Ganguly, Kumble, Laxman and pretty much everyone else. India need a good captain, and Kaif is the man 100%. Just call him in to the team, and he'll establish himself no problem. Good captains have a way of doing that. Do you know, he joined Uttar Pradesh half way thorugh the season when they were languishing at last and needed to win pretty much everything from there to win the league. He became captain straight away, had no problem establishing himself, and led the team to the top position in the league. Just through fantastic captaincy.

 

[manee]

India doesn't really have six months now, do they?

Everyone in the current team has played with him. Either by the A team or the regular team. Kaif is used to captaining Chawla, and has played a lot with Yuvraj, Sehwag, Pathan, Dravid, Sachin, Ganguly, Kumble, Laxman and pretty much everyone else. India need a good captain, and Kaif is the man 100%. Just call him in to the team, and he'll establish himself no problem. Good captains have a way of doing that. Do you know, he joined Tamil Nadu half way thorugh the season when they were languishing at last and needed to win pretty much everything from there to win the league. He became captain straight away, had no problem establishing himself, and led the team to the top position in the league. Just through fantastic captaincy.

Well, he is hardly playing well for India A, he needs to give something with the bat first.