Are success and controversy different sides of the same coin for Indian cricket's poster boy and retired test captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni? Indian Test captain has announced his sudden and shock retirement in the wake of India's tour of Australia. The decision came soon after India drew the Third Test in Melbourne.
India have lost the four match Border-Gavaskar trophy series in which Australia have a 2-0 lead. Vice-captain Virat Kohli will lead the fourth test in Sydney.
What could have been the reasons?
Unrest in the Indian camp
India and Australia players are known to be involved in a banter or chirping while playing against each other but this incident took a different turn highlighting unrest in the Indian camp. After the second test in Adelaide he addressed a few reporters to clarify the air surrounding the dressing room spat between Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli on Day 4 of the Brisbane Test.
The incident in question was the much talked about backing out from batting on the fourth day of the Brisbane Test by Shikhar Dhawan after being hit on the wrist during a net session. Dhoni had stated that the last-minute shuffling of the order, which required Kohli go ahead of Dhawan, resulted in some unrest in the dressing room.
The reporters saw a funny side of him as he responded with wit and sarcasm while being quizzed about it by the media on Friday. (Kohli-Dhawan spat no big deal: Ganguly)
"Actually that was the case. Virat used a knife. He stabbed Shikhar, who just recovered out of that then we pushed him to bat. These are all stories. Marvel, maybe Warner Bros or somebody should pick up this and make a nice a movie out of it," Dhoni said.
Injury scare before the all-important World Cup
The 2015 World Cup is only a few weeks away and Dhoni hadn't played the first Test as he was recuperating from a shoulder injury. While he did play the second and third Test, the captain didn't seem 100 percent fit. When he dived to collect, he grimaced in pain every time he landed on his right shoulder. It was a clear indication all wasn't well with Dhoni and may be he didn't want to injure himself any further. As the series was already lost (India have only one Test to play and Australia have an unassailable 2-0 lead), Dhoni didn't want to risk his fragile shoulder.
The successor had arrived
When he lost the series against England, there was no good alternative to replace him even if Dhoni had offered to quit. Kohli had performed very poorly in that series and India didn't have any player to take over from Dhoni. But the series against Australia has been different. Yes, we have already lost two matches, but barring a few sessions, India have played fire with fire and Virat Kohli has led from the front. His confidence is running high and Dhoni may have seen this as the right time to leave the reins to him.
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