Is MSD the greatest limited overs captain ever?

We all know pictures say a lot more than words. So, sample the following

Year 2007

Year 2009

Year 2010

Year 2011

Year 2011

Year 2013

Now, having seen the achievements by this leader, let us also see what ODI statistics say about this captain? Where does he stand among the great captains of all-time?

The table above shows the list of captains and their records. Clearly, Dhoni is not high on the pecking order but then there is another question that comes to mind. What made these captains ranked higher than Dhoni win more? Let us look at this list more closely (applying a filter of 75 matches to analyse in detail) - the ones (higher than Dhoni) in the list are the following (in the order of the countries they played for):

1. Clive Lloyd (1975-85) - One would say that all Lloyd had to do was toss the ball and whoever got it would start opening the bowling - such was the force of the Windies that every team that stood in its way got decimated.
2. Viv Richards (1980-1991) - Viv Richards was the successor and he managed to repeat much of what Lloyd did till the fag end of his career as a captain when his bowlers were not much of a force.
3. Steve Waugh (1997-2002) - Steve Waugh played a long time under Alan Border (who comes just below MSD in this list) and thus inherited an Australian team that would go on to perform great deeds
4. Ricky Ponting (2002-12) - Ponting acquired the mantle from Waugh and took Australian cricket to greater heights. This included multiple World Cup wins as well as Champions Trophy win. No doubt a great captain who led a great side.
5. Hansie Cronje (1994-2000) - Hansie Cronje was the shrewdest captain that South Africa had after their re-introduction to international cricket. Cronje made the Proteans start believing till a match-fixing scandal broke him and his team.
6. Shaun Pollock (2000-2005) - Shaun Pollock picked up the threads left by Cronje's untimely departure and nurtured the team with the help of individual geniuses like Jonty Rhodes, Alan Donald, Gary Kirsten and Jacques Kallis.
7. Greame Smith (2003-2011) - Smith was introduced to captaincy very early by his management. Captaincy was as natural as water to duck but he could not win any major tournament just like Pollock despite having a good team at disposal.

There is no doubt that these players have done well in their captaincy career but they also had the added advantage of a great squad at their disposal. The Windies (1980-2000) and Australians (2000-2010) were the champion sides of the decade - the other teams could only play catch-up with them. The South Africans were good but other than the first version of the Champions Trophy, they could hardly win a title at the international level.

What makes Dhoni different and better (in my humble reasoning) is that he has managed to lead Indian teams that were not so great to title wins in conditions that were adverse (T20 in South Africa as well as Champions Trophy in England). Yes, he did win the 2011 World Cup on familiar conditions with a team comprising the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and co. but that is not an one-off win in his resume. 

Let us look at the teams that he has won the international titles with:

The 2013 Champions Trophy had only three other players who had played the 2011 World Cup while there were three others who had played the 2007 T20 World Cup. A good nucleus for a side that showed how hungry they were on the field as well as demonstrated a brave front to the short and seaming stuff they faced with their bat.

With the T20 World Cup win, came the birth of IPL and Dhoni has shown that he can lead a team of international players and groom them to similar victories. Dhoni has shown that his captaincy can win matches for his team irrespective of conditions, coaches, form, teams, nationalities, personal issues. The Champions Trophy came with Dhoni contributing only 27 runs to the team's cause. Speak to any cricketer who has played under him and he has the same message - the way Dhoni supports him even when he is not in form makes wonders. Let it be Joginder Sharma, Ishant Sharma or even Albie Morkel.

Dont you think it is a valid assumption to take that MS Dhoni is the greatest captain ever in the limited overs format? Do let me know your comments.

All images are courtesy espncricinfo.com

World Cup 2011 - On to the Semi finals

Two ten-wicket wins and two incredibly close matches - that sums up the four quarter-finals that were played in the 2011 World Cup.

West Indies were always in contention with Ireland and Bangladesh for the final slot in the quarterfinals. That itself showed their current form and capabilities. Over-dependence on Gayle in the batting front and Roach in the bowling department meant that they were always at the mercy of their opponents. Their coach, Gibson blamed the senior players for not putting their hands up during the match against Pakistan. Gayle was furious and tweeted his response back. There are going to be changes in the team following the disaster which is not surprising. The team morale was not high and one can see the same players play the IPL with great camaraderie. The unity that was on display during the times of Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards are missing altogether. It will be a long time before the team makes a decent comeback into international cricket. They will struggle to beat top nations for a while, as has been in the last 20 months.

England also had a severe bashing at the hands of the Sri Lankans last night - no one was surprised though. The English had managed to stumble their way to the quarterfinals and clearly had to depend on other teams' generosity to make the cut. Injuries to several players hampered them and the media were quick to point out the grueling schedule that the team had to endure over the last six months. It has been the same with the other teams as well, one can say. The English team's strategy in ODI cricket is far from adequate - notice the experience of the players in this format for further insight. 

Australia came into the tournament being ranked No.1 in ODI, as per ICC rankings. Though the rank did not justify them, the team was able to string together victories that enabled them stay at the peak for a long period. Injuries to players (mostly bowlers) meant that there were frequent changes to the playing eleven. It was not noticed as long as they were winning. Ponting's loss of form coincided with the lack of batting might in the Oz team. Watson and Haddin were probably the most consistent players for the last one year. After the retirements of a number of greats (like Mcgrath, Warne, Gilchrist), the Aussies were never able to recover. The loss of Warne left a gaping hole in the spin department - this was one of the biggest concerns going into the tournament which was expected to support the spinners.

South Africa prepared their campaign very well, adding a number of spinners to their squad who were capable of standing up to the demands of the subcontinental pitches. Imran Tahir was the surprise weapon, who showed initial promise of picking up a bushel of wickets. Opening the bowling with a spinner and Steyn, Greame Smith had a good strategy in place. They beat the Indians due to the help of their lower order, assuring everyone that they had left their choking back in Africa. Kallis and Smith were not firing in the first few games but it did not matter. The other batsmen were showing good form in bringing the team to the knockout stage. One great catch followed by a runout in the Quarterfinals meant that the cat was among the pigeons. No matter what the lower order tried, the writing was on the wall. The Proteas had choked once again - they cannot deny this any longer. This stigma will stick to them for another four years or till the time they win a knockout match in the World Cup.

On to the semi-finals then with three subcontinental pitches along with New Zealand contesting for the final match in Mumbai. May the best team win.