Dada Vs Captain Cool- Who suited India

Over the years, there has been so many speculations about the best captain India has ever produced. To my opinion, the best captain has always been Kapil Dev, as he led an underdog side to a World Cup victory in ’83. But that is not the point of discussion. The comparison that I am to going to cover up is between Sourav Ganguly and Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

M.S. Dhoni, all the ICC trophies, No. 1 team in Tests, T20 and ODIs, captain of the World XI for both tests and ODIs, this guy never left anything to chance. It all came to a shock, when he was appointed as the captain for T20 World Cup. Even after the presence of seniors players like Yuvraj, Sehwag, Gambhir, Harbhajan, the selectors didn’t hesitate of giving Dhoni the responsibility of leading a fumbling Indian squad. Some say that it was the trio of Indian cricket (Sachin, Dravid and Ganguly) who suggested his name, but did it matter? Who would have believed that a guy from small town, who is yet to establish a name for himself in the cricketing arena, will lead a young and energetic Indian cricket to a historic win at the Wanderers? And he never stopped. Just a year later, he led India to another glorious victory against the Aussies in the Commonwealth Bank Series 2008, clinching the finals 2-0.  He failed to leave a mark at the Champions League 2009, and was criticized a lot for the same. There were speculations that Dhoni’s side is not good for foreign pitches, and it was somewhat true. With experience campaigners like Sachin, Sehwag and Zaheer, sitting on the bench due to injuries, the “youngistaan” of India scrabbled at bouncy tracks. But Dhoni always covered that losses by registering one sided wins at home grounds.

 

And then came the unforgettable ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, a tournament, whose every single delivery has been engraved in the hearts of every Indian. MS Dhoni was clearly under a lot of pressure. He knew that his side is considered the favourites for the tournament, and they did emerged as one. With the same batting and bowling openers as in the 2003 WC, India devastated every single opponent that came in front. The first bowl four of Virender Sehwag, the iconic shots of Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, the all-round performance by Yuvraj Singh and the economic bowling from Zak-Nehra duo, India was racing its way to the top. But the middle order collapse remained an issue. Till the semi-finals, India faced the issue of having a terrible collapse after the fall of opening wickets.  In the finals, after the fall of initial wickets, Indian fans were again frightened from the same. But that’s when Captain cool took charge. He came up ahead of Yuvraj Singh (the man in form), and played an innings of elegance, patience and class, unlike any other M.S. Dhoni innings. And then this happened.

“Six!!!!!!!!!! Dhoni finishes off in style, India lift the World Cup.”

Dhoni went on the lift the only remaining ICC trophy in 2013, when India registered a nail biting win, against England in the Champions trophy final at London. Dhoni played his biggest gambled at the game, when he brought the least economical bowler into the attack, when Morgan and Bopara were unstoppable. The gamble paid off, and two wickets in two balls. Both the set batsmen departed, and wickets tumbled.

This was Mahendra Singh Dhoni. A risk taker, a believer, an unorthodox and a calm and patience captain. 

So why is he compared to Sourav Ganguly? 

Why did Ashwin, the bowler who only played under the captaincy of Dhoni, stated that he consider Ganguly as the best captain?  

Ganguly just had a Champions trophy in his name which was shared with Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka). So, is the comparison even justified? No, its not. But the reason is different.

In 2000, when Ganguly took over the captaincy from Sachin Tendulkar, India was an underdog. India suffered a shameful defeat by Zimbabwe in ’99 World Cup. The team rarely managed to reach the knockouts stages of any triangular tournaments. Indian players were accused of ball tampering, match fixing, and drugs. BCCI and the Indian cricket was going through its darkest of times, when Bengal tiger took the charge. In his first tournament as Captain, he crushed the stupendous Proteas team, who had the likes of Donald, Klusener, Gibbs, Boje, Rhodes to a 3-2 defeat at home. He took the so-called “underdog Indian squad” into the final of Knockout cup in 2000, crushing invincible opponents like the 90s Australia and South Africa, and would have won it, if Cairns wouldn’t have played probably the best knock of his career. He led his team in the finals of Champions trophy 2002, where rain interrupted and India had to share the title with Sri Lanka. He didn’t stop and took the “underdogs” to the finals at the ’03 World Cup. Don’t even talk about domestic series. The mighty Australians with the likes of Waugh, Warne, Bevan, Langer were stunned when they suffered a defeat after imposing a follow-on on the Indians. He promoted talents like Yuvraj, Zaheer, Irfan Pathan, Kaif, Balaji, Ashish Nehra and many more. He was the first to realise the batting potential of MS Dhoni, when he promoted him to No.3, where he scored a massive 141. The Ganguly-Wright duo empowered the Indian cricket team. Ganguly actually pulled his team out of the darkness and made it an example for the whole world to learn from.

But as we all know, there was another thing about the Bengal Tiger that made him special. His aggression. Previously, the cricket analysts were not much supportive and not at all encouraging. "England Cricket died at Lords,” is such an example. Indian cricket was not untouched. In 2001, when Flintoff took off his shirt and ran all across Eden Garden celebrating India’s defeat, the critics said that he actually insulted Sourav Ganguly by doing such an act in his home town. Ganguly must be embarrassed and he deserves it too. But, Ganguly is called Dada for a reason. A year later, he took the revenge and in style. His team did the impossible of chasing the gigantic total of 326 in the Natwest Series final, leaving Flintoff with his worst nightmares. It was then Ganguly’s turn to ran all across Lords and roar to the cricketing world, that he is someone who shouldn’t be challenged. There are many such incidents. Once unhappy with the pitch, he refused to come to the toss and sent Rahul Dravid instead. Once Steve Waugh made him wait for the toss in the opening match of a series, and he made him wait for the remaining matches. Russell Arnold, once abused Dravid of appealing too much from behind the stumps. We all know what happened. His iconic dialogue to “Beta, tu time note kar le. Meko slow over rate lagi to tu bharega,” to Md. Yousuf is a proof that he was a captain, who never learnt to keep his heads down. 

But how is all this relevant? These incidents of Sourav Ganguly transformed India into a confident, self-dependant and aggressive cricket team. A team who was becoming a nightmare for the rest. The attitude that Indian cricket team carried overpowered the sledging of Aussies, the aggression of Pakistan and the criticism of the English. India emerged as a team who knew how to answer their critics on and off the field. 

So, is the comparison justified? No. Dhoni and Ganguly led India in completely different time. Dhoni was a calm and composed captain, who quietly led India to success and let the performance made the noise. Ganguly was an aggressive captain, who roared like a tiger, and showed the true potential of Indian cricket to the whole world. Dhoni, Captain Cool and Ganguly, The Bengal Tiger, both were the captains that were perfectly suited at their times. Again as I said in Sachin vs Virat, instead of comparing, feel yourself lucky to have witnessed these two leading the side.