India were knocked out of the ICC World Twenty20 tournament on Sunday as they failed to overcome the host nation England loosing by a mere 3 runs. Following the exit, skipper Dhoni has become the prime target of all criticism from the country’s cricket-crazy and demanding fans.
Former Indian players spared no time to question Dhoni’s tactics that led to the shock defeat. His misjudgments of opting to bowl first followed by the sending of rather less experienced Ravindra Jadega ahead of Yuvraj Singh were thoroughly criticized, while legendary Indian spinner EAS Prasanna’s frustration was evident when he said, “In a crucial tie like this, Dhoni shouldn’t have put England in after winning the toss, it was a mistake. I don’t think our batting order was right. Sending Jadeja ahead of Yuvraj and Dhoni himself was a mistake. Even Harbhajan Singh could have given us the required thrust.’’ Former wicketkeeper Syed Kirmani added, “You have the talent and you are rated as favourites but this is what happens when you don’t click. Sehwag’s absence dented our prospects”.
Legendary bowler Javagal Srinath expressed that Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s handling of the media proved prominent in India’s shock exit from the World Twenty20. On one hand, South African captain Graeme Smith’s comments come as some consolation to Dhoni before the two teams meet in a rather meaningless fixture form India’s perspective. Smith said, “Mahendra is a very composed person but a few tactical decisions of theirs have come under scrutiny and that’s always difficult to deal with as a leader.”
Dhoni effigy burnt
This criticism is merely a passing comment compared to the reactions of Indian fans which would come as no less than a slap in the face for the skipper. Citizens from Jharkhand burnt Dhoni’s effigy to protest the side’s early exit from the tournament and also the consecutive defeats to West Indies and England.
One furious protestor was quoted saying, “Dhoni took the T20 world cup lightly. It seems Dhoni is more fascinated by glamour world instead of cricket.” Also, police patrolling near Dhoni’s under-construction house at Harmu road in Jharkhand has been increased considering the reactions of the angry fans back in 2007 when India was knocked out of the World Cup.
Dhoni apologizes to fans
Captain MS Dhoni, under the circumstances, apologized to the Indian fans saying, “We are sorry for what happened but we can say we gave our best. India is an emotional country. We are more disappointed than them.” He also denied repeated questions seeking approval of whether the players were exhausted from playing the long IPL II season in South Africa right before the ICC World T20 began. Speaking of sending Jadega ahead in the batting order and choosing to bowl first Dhoni added, “Sometimes you don’t know what would happen. We thought Jadeja could stabilise the innings as well as go after the bowling. He did try but somehow he always found the fielders. It was unfortunate it didn’t work for us. We needed somebody to play percentage cricket at that stage.”
“As for fielding first, we realised that under lights the wicket became better for batting.”