WTF(s)?


Dhoni is probably the worst batsman the Indian team has had in the last 5, 6 years. Whenever I talk about Sachin I say, "he brings in so much life and flavour to the game" at one point or the other. I think the opposite can be said about Dhoni. Everything becomes ugly and embarrassing. His unwieldy stroke-play, lack of technique -- ewww, this kind of cricket is probably fun to play; like in under-arm cricket at your 600x800 ft terrace, but it's so painful to watch. That's the way it has been since the day he stepped into the team (well, those days it was also his kuruvi koodu hair). But there was some hope that he'll be in and out, if not thrown out for good. No. What happened was the opposite -- he became the bloody captain. What's worse? Nobody in the media seemed to have a problem with that. Some even wanted him to be made the test captain. adhu seri.

A lot of people compare Afridi with Dhoni. There cannot be a bigger travesty. Afridi, as much as I hate him when he plays against India, is actually quite capable of playing decent cricket shots. This guy Dhoni, on the other hand, gives new meaning to the expressions "kaatan maadhiri", "kaatu adi" etc., (even that only when manages to send the ball to the boundary).

It's not so much his batting or the fact that he's been made the captain that irritates me, it's the unbelievable silence from the cricket commentators. Harsha came close to commenting on it, but chose to play it safe by asking Slater what the Australian cricketers thought about Dhoni's batting? The best that Slater could come up with was, "he's not the most orthodox player, but that's what is unique about him. The raw approach to the game." What?

Gavaskar to Shastri, none of them have a problem with the way he bats? Is this the big elephant in the room that nobody wants to talk about? To top all this he has the nerve to assume self righteous authority when he talks. Who the hell said this moron is "humble"? "I could have a completed that run with my cramped leg"? Can you be a bigger asshole than this?

Disclaimer: some quotes may not be exact.

12 comments:

Bala (Karthik) said...

And i thought i was the only one who couldn't bear watching Maram Vetti Dhoni bat.
That said, how would you respond to someone who asks "How does it matter if his batting is good to watch or not as long as he is effective?"

Suresh ET said...

Yeah, I know that question. That's why get all pissed when I say "I watch cricket only for Sachin, I stopped worrying about the results a long time ago."
Even if you go by their logic, just see what he did in test matches (and even in the recent ODIs). This guy cannot even work a single on cue. How is he any "effective"? These people bash Yuvraj for his poor form, but the truth is when he gets out of this 'slump' he'll again be a decent "reliable" batsman. While Dhoni will always be a "mattai solatti".

Anonymous said...

I share your disgust for Dhoni. And more than share your Sachin admiration. I switch off the match when he gets out, mostly.

In fact, me and my friend were talking about this exact dhoni's batting. He swings on the onside to hit a ball on the offside. That he is effective matters little to us spectators of the game. I hated it when he became the captain of the team.

Anonymous said...

For all his common sense approach to the game, it was stupid of Dhoni to make the call for the run. He should've left it to his runner (I think so).

How fast does he expect Rohit to respond to his call. And I think he ran very well to fall just off the mark. It was a fucking poor call if Dhoni was to be honest with himself. Fucking Assol.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, he has a sad 'style' of batting. Screw effectiveness. He seems an astute fellow though. The little I've watched him talk in interviews. He doesn't seem stupid.

Anonymous said...

And I rather sport some admiration for swell-heads.
Anyway, he's probably the first Indian WK that can and has scored runs. I mean, come on, before Dhoni, Indian wicketkeepers were part of tailenders. It seems to me that it isn't the case anymore.
Again, I'd be the first person to deride his batting style though. He's fun. :P

Prabhu S said...

You took the words out of my mouth!

For someone like me who does not mind watching Lara/Sachin's masterly innings repeatedly, Dhoni's style is atrocious.

Hawkeye said...

wait until critical mass of (lack of ) runs gets people talking about him. Honeymoon period is getting over right now.

it may take 2 years for people to question is away record as i expect his subcontinent record to be good.

Bala (Karthik) said...

The minute Sachin announces his retirement from cricket, i will announce my retirement from watching it :)

Suresh/Hawkeye,
About lack of runs, he is doing OK/well in ODI's and even in this series, i think he has been consistent. KKD Karthik is obviously a better batsman to watch but unfortunately he hasn't bene consistent and being from TN, that's bad news for him.

And i was hoping he would fail in the CB series as he did in the tests but hell, it doesn't look like its happening.

Senile Gavaskar, Shastri and co vera avana thalaila thooki vechukittu aadraanga. kaala kodumai da saami :(

Anonymous said...

Forget about the grace and all that, if someone can see his team through consistently, you cant ask for a better player. Someone like Moin Khan, Craig McMillan, Chanderpaul dont 've the grace, but they 've a technique of their own and how many times they 've irritated the opponents by winning matches frm the edge of losing. Same with Dhoni. He has adjusted to Australian conditions superbly. Not trying to do anything extra-ordinary like those so-called class acts. All i wanna say is, he is playing cleverly and thats what team needs, especially in low-scoring games.

The Individualist said...

Forget about the grace and all that, if someone can see his team through consistently, you cant ask for a better player.
I think Suresh made it pretty clear that he doesn't watch matches so much for the results as he does for the 'grace and all that'.

S P Praveen said...

Hi all

I accept that dhoni doesnt play shots out of the book and is noway an international batsmen...
But a cricket player should have confidence,leadership skills which he possess more than anybody in the team.Thats the reason he is the captain of the Indian team now.Dravid is the most classic player ever..but what is the use....He is unable to contribute recently(I admire dravid but am pissed off).Still people should be mature enough to appreciate Dhone as he has some skills which no other player has....

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