Behind the stumps, Indian cricket is in a pair of safe hands

Eden Gardens, October 1, 2016: Wriddhiman Saha scores an unbeaten 54 against New Zealand at a time when his team was under pressure.

Nagpur, 2010: Saha's stumps are tumbled by a South African bowling legend called Dale Steyn in his debut innings and eyebrows are raised. Yes, the Siliguri guy is lucky to have earned his Test cap because Rohit Sharma is injured. And mind you, Saha doesn't even keep wickets on his debut because the prestigious place behind the stumps is occupied by the Indian captain MS Dhoni.  In the second innings of the Test, Saha stands his ground scoring a fighting 36 off 101 balls giving ample support to his skipper, Dhoni.

In the presence of Dhoni, Saha had to prolong his wait to make his entry into the Indian team. Despite his heroics with the bat in the shorter versions of the game (IPL final in 2014 among many), he was never taken seriously at the international level. Despite experts showering praises on him and his skills behind the stumps, Saha had to cool his heels on the sidelines. An out-of-the-blue retirement of Dhoni from the five-day-format in Australia in 2014, and the selection committee didn't have to look beyond the Bengal wicket-keeper to replace a legend. Even when Dhoni was at his peak, many experts felt that the best wicket-keeper in India was Saha and not the legend.

Since then, Saha has not only earned the confidence of his skipper Virat Kohli, he has also given us reasons enough to repose our faith in him not just as a wicket-keeper, but also as a batsman down the order who can be looked to under crisis. The world of cricket has seen legendary figures excelling behind the stumps as well as with the bat: Syed Kirmani, Alan Knott, Wasim Bari, Rodney Marsh, Bob Taylor, Kumar Sangakkara, Moin Khan, MS Dhoni, Adam Gilchrist, to name a few. These guys were not only dependable as wicket-keepers but also contributed with the willow as well. And going by Saha's career graph so far, it is a given that he is slowly and steadily embarking on a successful journey as a cricketer.

His 60 against Sri Lanka at Galle (2015), 56 against Sri Lanka at Colombo (2015), 104 against West Indies at Gros Islet (2016) and the unbeaten 54 against New Zealand on his home ground, Kolkata only bear testimony to the fact that here's a wicket-keeper who means business with the bat as well.

Before the emergence of Dhoni, if India had one stable pair of hands behind the stumps and a dependable batsman in the middle-order in both Tests and ODIs, post the Kiran More era, it was Nayan Mongia. In between, India has experimented with wicket-keepers like Syed Saba Karim, Vijay Yadav, Samir Dighe, Deep Dasgupta (also from Bengal), Vijay Dahiya, Parthiv Patel, Dinesh Karthik, MSK Prasad and probably some others (names not worth remembering), but none could cement his place be it in any format of the game. Even Rahul  Dravid was entrusted with the responsibility of handling business behind the stumps in ODIs. But the guy from Ranchi changed it all and ruled Indian cricket as a Test cricketer till 2014 and continues to make an impact in the One-day Internationals and T20s.

But Saha courtesy Dhoni's retirement from Tests, has had a chance to prove his worth as a reliable wicket-keeper-batsman. And he hasn't let this opportunity go wasted. With an impressive record both as a wicket-keeper and a batsman, the cool and sober guy from Bengal can actually aim at replacing Dhoni in the truncated versions of the game as well once the latter calls it a day. And there's hardly any competition apart from Naman Ojha. Even in the modified versions, Saha is not to be ignored keeping in mind his deceptive aggression as a batsman that can take any world-class bowler by surprise.

Though it's too early to say that Dhoni isn't missed in Test matches, what we can harp on is that Saha is here to stay and despite being 31, he at least has five-six years of cricket left in him. Dedication and commitment personify him and let's put our money on him.

As a Bengali this writer may sound biased, but this piece is from an earnest observer of the game and not a proud Bengali.   

These guys exude the zeal to take on the world

Seeing MS Dhoni's boys almost snatching victory from the jaws of defeat against a rejuvenated West Indian side in the first T20 International at Florida was no doubt a pleasant experience. Yes, Dhoni, the finisher may have failed to hit the wining run, but let's not forget that in the 20-over format, chasing such a mammoth total of 245 isn't child's play.

Quite expectedly, experts didn't mine words while castigating Captain Cool and even foreseeing his retirement from international cricket advising him to pass on the mantle to Test skipper Virat Kohli. But amid, the volley of salvos directed at Dhoni, one misses the silver lining emanating from the courageous loss.

Team India is here to stay. Team India has it in it to tear apart any bowling attack in all the formats of the game. Team India shows the zeal not to give up, come what may. Looking back, there's hardly an instance when India braved all odds to come so close to victory chasing such a humongous total. Before the Florida encounter, India's highest total chasing was 211 with a target of 207 against Sri Lanka at Mohali in 2009.

But things have changed and thanks to the increasing number of T20 games played all over the world, there's a lot of aggression that players display, be it in bowling or batting. A Chris Gayle scores tons at ease. Kohli makes it a habit of notching up high scores. The likes of Rohit Sharma, Fa duPlessis and AB de Villiers are superstars in the shortest version of the game. In this context, India's rise in T20s augurs well for the future of the game in the country. These boys do not crumble under pressure and dare to take the game right down to the wire irrespective of the opponents.

India's run chase against the Caribbeans is also a proof of the results the Indian Premier League (IPL) yield.
Written off as just a more-than-a month circus by the conservative critics, IPL has won more brickbats than bouquets. But it's the IPL that brought into the limelight a KL Rahul, earlier ruled out from the T20 format for being a strokeless genius. Rahul's century and his partnerships with Rohit and MS in the first T20 last Saturday cement his place in the side for the time being at the expense of the inconsistent Shikhar Dhawan.

Talking about Captain Cool and his captaincy, it would be unfair on our part to write his cricketing obituary in the wake of India's series loss to West Indies. Little can a captain do when his bowlers and the best in business are hammered and slaughtered by two young batsmen. It was one bad day for the bowlers in the park from both sides. But, it's the Indian bowlers who bounced back in the second match dismissing their opponents for 143. Unfortunately the rain Gods played foul and the match was abandoned handing India a series defeat.

On the leadership front in the modified versions of the game, one sees nothing wrong at this point of time though Kohli is breathing around MS's neck. The current ODI and T20 skipper hasn't lost any of his qualities, both as a leader and a player. Beyond bowling and batting, it's the never-say-die spirit of the Men in Blue on the field that captures one's fancy.

These young guns are raring to go and led by a senior pro with an impeccable record, we are on course. On the Test front, Kohli has emerged as the ideal successor to MS leading his side to victory in the Test series against the Windies. And with a veteran like Anil Kumble playing the role of a mentor and coach, both Kohli and Dhoni are laying the foundation for a successful journey for Indian cricket.

 So, let's wind up on a positive note. Team India has arrived after a process of transition. The likes of Gavaskars, Gangulys and Tendulkars would be cherishing the emergence of a young side ready to take on the world.

End of an era? Fingers crossed

Former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly wants the selectors to take a call on Mahendra Singh Dhoni. “Does he have the ability in the next four years to see India into the World Cup in 2019?” Ganguly asked. Is The Prince of Calcutta the only one raising questions about Dhoni’s future? No way! Going by the Indian limited-over captain’s recent run of form in the Indian Premier League (2016), there are others who don’t see Dhoni carrying on for long.

Megastars feel the heat after a prolonged run of success. Look around, and you get the answer. Be it a film star or a cricketer, a time comes when critics cash in on the slightest of opportunities to write their obituary.
Dhoni who carries the reputation of being the world’s best finisher seems to be a pale shadow of the superstar he was. As he fails to take Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS) home against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Tuesday, May 10, even a Dhoni fanatic might reconcile to the fact that he is entering the twilight zone of his career.

Of late, the best finisher in the world hasn’t been in his own self be it as a captain or a player. As of now he has 212 runs in 10 innings at an average of 30.28 in the IPL. Bowlers he would have toyed with in the past are getting the better of him. The age-old ploy to drag the game to the last over is not paying off. With 8 losses in 11 games, RPS’ hopes of a play-off berth are smashed.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say Dhoni got a long rope. After the 7-0 loss to England and Australia in 2011-12 under his captaincy, any other skipper would have been fired. Yet, Dhoni got away thanks to his Godfather N Srinivasan who was helming the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).  As per reports selectors wanted Virat Kohli to take over, but it was vetoed by Srinivasan. And nobody dared to question the BCCI president.

Not too much to boast in Test matches after the 7-0 mishap, Dhoni sparkled occasionally in the truncated versions of the game till late 2015. Defeat to South Africa in the One-day and T20 Internationals at home and drubbing at the hands of Australia in the ODI series earned him flak, but the T20 series win Down Under and the Asia Cup triumph courtesy Kohli’s one-man show added to the list of India’s victories under Dhoni.

However, post India’s semi-final loss to West Indies in the ICC T20 World Cup, there are speculations that the person who got India two World Cups might be counting his days in international cricket.

The IPL, 2016 would have been the perfect occasion for Dhoni to prove his critics wrong. But with his team being out of contention, the worrying signs on his face are visible. Kohli who took charge as the Indian Test captain after Dhoni's retirement from the five-day format, is in the form of his life. Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), the team Kohli leads in the IPL isn’t out of reckonings yet and even if it fails to make it to the play-offs, Kohli’s acumen as a leader shouldn’t be written off. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that Kohli, the captain has come of age. He shows aggression and has the ability to carry the entire team on his own shoulders, something he has proved over and over again.

A genius like Dhoni is born once-in-a-blue moon. True, the former ticket collector’s rise to the top is a rags-to-riches story. But Mahi as he is nicknamed should introspect lest he throws himself at the sympathy of experts and cricket fans. Knowing him, he can still pull off a miracle or two, but for the first time in his career, Dhoni is looking vulnerable and helpless. The fire in the belly may still be there, but one dreads the sight of India’s most successful captain being forced to hang up his boots. Doesn't he deserve to go on his own terms?

Samuel Ferris must have been wondering whether he committed a sin by asking Dhoni about his retirement plans after India’s exit from the T20 World Cup. But more than a month down the line, he must be smiling sitting back in his room. By the way, who is Ferris? He is the Australian journalist who was ‘casually’ confronted by Dhoni for mooting the ‘all-important’ question.