India, who are said to be masters at home, lost both the T20 as well as the ODI series against South Africa under the leadership of MS Dhoni. The Jharkhand lad has been a fine servant for India as captain and batsman, but has come under-fire off late.
MS Dhoni, who has already retired from Tests, is still an integral part of the Indian team as he is not only one of the most experienced players in the team, but also the most feared.
While representing India, there is a bag of pressure, and when you don the skipper's cap, the pressure multiplies. The critics might be too harsh on Indian cricketers as one can go from hero to zero in a matter of days. Former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar was also critical of Dhoni's way of handling the bowlers in the crucial ODI in Mumbai, which India lost by 214 runs and thus the series.
However, the world is not too dark for Dhoni, who has received the backing of former Indian player Farokh Engineer. He believes that the skipper should be allowed to decide his own future.
"Dhoni has done a very good job. He has served India very well, he has won us championships, won medals for us. But we shouldn't be too keen to pack him off. He has already retired from Test cricket, it should be up to him to decide. I think we should offer him the privilege to decide about his future," said Engineer during a media interaction in Kolkata.
"I like him (Dhoni), he reminds me of my young days. Every cricketer thinks you got to go when people ask why and not why not. So let him decide about his future."
India will face South Africa in a 4-match Test series, which starts on 5 November in Mohali under the captaincy of Virat Kohli, who has done a good job as Test captain. It is certain that Kohli will take over the reins from Dhoni in the ODI and T20 format as well in the near future, but Engineer believes Kohli should be given some more time.
"Virat is a fantastic player and certainly deserves to be the captain but I think you got to give him some time. We need to persevere with whatever talent we have and I am sure they will bring glory to the country," added Engineer.
