Captain Cool Feels the Heat

By Gulu Ezekiel

Two years in the job and the pressures appear to have got to captain MS Dhoni.
It was Sunil Gavaskar who thought up the nickname of ‘Captain Cool’ for Dhoni after watching him guide India to victory in his maiden assignment in the inaugural World Cup 20/20 in South Africa in 2007. And I chose that title for my biography of Dhoni that was released late last year.
But being captain of the Indian cricket team has brought even more stress on the incumbent than ever before with three formats of the game to contend with at the international level.
Added to that are the unique stress levels associated with the IPL where Dhoni captains Chennai Super Kings and one can well understand the burdens he has to carry. Being the wicket-keeper and a leading batsman to boot only makes the task more difficult.
From the time he took charge of the team, Dhoni has always endeared himself to the media with his insouciant airs and tongue in cheek answers.
All that has changed this time around and the way he batted in India’s opening Super 8 match against the West Indies at Lord’s on Friday, it looked like he had taken the cares of the world upon his sturdy shoulders.
Dhoni tried to patch things up with the press and admitted he had changed over the last two years. But the BCCI left the captain holding the baby in the mess over Virender Sehwag’s fitness and it will take a mighty effort now to get his relationship with the media back on an even keel.
This is where the media manager must step in and take some off the heat off the captain. But the Board appears to think that a professional to handle such matters is quite unnecessary. And so it bungles on.
If the defending champions fail to progress from here, Dhoni will cop the blame. That would be a crying shame.