Monday, July 04, 2011

The search for India’s Michael Clarke


At the outset it seems a premature topic to write upon. A lot of you might think, why so soon..? Considering what Mahendra Singh Dhoni has done over the past few years some might think this is outright rubbish. But in the midst of enjoying a "Captaincy Calm" phase and a bright set of youngsters knocking on the selection door, we must not fail to realize that barely any of the bright young talents are captaincy materials. India must do similar to what Australia did with Michael Clarke. They have to find a good player who can also be a captaincy material and groom him. As much as captaincy is about instinct, a lot of it can be thought as well. Let’s look at the options.
He has been handed the ODI captaincy in Dhoni’s absence, but Suresh Raina has not showed great promise as a captain. He is more of a text book captain and lacks imagination to improvise and create a result out of tense situation. He needs to play and captain in domestic games to convince every one of his leadership abilities.
He might be credited for changes the fortunes of the Kolkata Knight Riders but Gautam Gambhir still has so much to prove as a captain. His temperament resembles more like that of a manager in a software company. Bossy, Orders, always angry and always complaining. The emotions that he shows on the field are quite not Gangulyesque as what some might think he is. This was on full display during the IPL where KKR rose and fell with his temperament. Plus his age is against him.
So that pretty much leaves with one choice and that’s Virat Kohli. He is young, confident and brash much like how Clarke was when he started. A lot of experts feel he has what it takes to be captain. His attitude is a problem although he has worked on it significantly. He did a fair job as a stand in captain for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. But then a lot more needs to be done and this is where BCCI can help by giving him more responsibilities and making him change his attitude to suit the needs of the team.
Personalities like Saurav Ganguly and Mahendra Singh Dhoni are excellent captains and outstanding leader of men. India has been extremely lucky that they had and still have an outstanding set of senior batsman and led by capable men. But its time BCCI realize that may not be third time lucky to get a brilliant leader out of nowhere. They have a mould one.
Will BCCI do a Cricket Australia..?