Some want captain MS Dhoni to be given the marching orders following another reversal abroad, to add to the ones in England (2011), Australia (2012) and South Africa (2013). Some have questioned Dhoni's tactical acumen, or the lack of it, in crunch situations.
Rahul Dravid, who has stood alongside Dhoni at slip in many a Test, reckons the captaincy was defensive in critical situations. Speaking to a website, he stressed that Dhoni needed to trust his fast bowlers more.
Former captains Ajit Wadekar and Dilip Vengsarkar, however, feel Dhoni is handicapped by the lack of a potent bowling attack. "Dhoni's overseas record is abysmal. But what can he do if we don't have the bowlers? If you are going to bowl the same set of bowlers match after match, ODI after ODI, they will struggle to stand on their feet let alone bowl fiercely," said Vengsarkar, who as chief selector had played an important role in making Dhoni captain.
"If you are playing with four bowlers and your fourth bowler happens to be Ravindra Jadeja, do you think you have a chance to win? When you play with four bowlers then at least two of your bowlers should be capable of picking 20 wickets," Vengsarkar added.
Wadekar said: "So far, he has been the best captain for India, having won so many Tests and ODIs. He is going through a phase where he is trying to restructure the team following the retirements of Sachin Tendulkar, Dravid, VVS Laxman and to an extent Virender Sehwag. So I guess one has to give him time."
On coach Duncan Fletcher's contribution as a coach, Wadekar said, "Certainly he's (Fletcher) not like the earlier ones. With so much of cricket, most of the players stop thinking. They leave it to the coach. Somewhere I think there's no proper co-ordination between the captain and coach or Dhoni is not being advised properly.
Can't say for sure, though." Wadekar sees T20 cricket as a hindrance and reckons it holds youngsters back from coming of age in Test cricket. For Vengsarkar, it's the empty bowling larder has left Vengsarkar worried. "How many bowlers do you have who can bowl at 135-plus? You don't have reserve strength at all.
Do you have a second off-spinner, leg-spinner or left-arm spinner? You don't. You may have India 'A' tours, but are you getting any results out of it? It is the supply line to the Test team, but I am afraid the supply line seems to have choked. BCCI needs to wake up quickly," he said.
Vengsarkar feels India need to have at least eight go-to bowlers for Tests.
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