India's tour of England this summer is made rather fascinating by its timing. If you had to pick out two heavyweight cricket teams in the world today who are both struggling with recent history, you'd probably go with India and England. No other cricket team in the world, save perhaps Australia at times, has to contend with as much media scrutiny as these two, and it isn't just on the field; the standing of - and relationship between - the BCCI and the ECB is uncannily similar to what had been of Kennedy's America and Khruschev's Soviet Union in the 1960s. To put more blatantly, this is the Cold War of world cricket.
On the field, you find two teams in painful transition. India's legacy of relative overseas success under Sourav Ganguly has evaporated following the post-World Cup debacles in England and Australia (and later, in South Africa and New Zealand, where MS Dhoni's men failed to tally much in terms of results). The young boys of Indian cricket, to many, seem over-addicted to T20 cricket and incapable still of filling the big boots of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman (to be fair to them, those are some king-sized boots).
England too have had their share of ill fate recently. Their last Test win came in Chester-le-Street in August last year. Incidentally, that capped off a successful Ashes series which seemed to suggest that England were here to dominate - and for long. But as destiny would have it, only a few months later, all that ambition was washed away on the return tour to Australia - an odyssey that ended with the tourists losing not just all 5 games but also two of their premium batsmen and lone specialist spinner.
In many ways, even the two captains seem to have much in common. Much like MS Dhoni, Alastair Cook faces intense media interrogation back in England, with the mikes and cameras following him everywhere. And much like Dhoni, Cook proves to be ever reclusive in the spotlight, soft-spoken and diplomatic in press conferences and almost stoic in the face of journalistic aggression. Cook and Dhoni don't quite follow the old-school Australian principle of 'give 'em as good as you get', both preferring rather to stay away from the whole ordeal as far as possible. Expectedly then, all of the 'inter-personal battle' hype prior to the start of the series was created and sustained entirely by the media, with players from neither side choosing to add any venom to the contest (surprisingly, even James Anderson's reported punch at Ravindra Jadeja in the dressing rooms of Nottingham hasn't quite escalated to too much).
There are other striking similarities between both Dhoni and Cook. Both seem to enjoy captaining younger players more than the senior ones. Under Dhoni's watch, following the retirement of all the great legends, other stalwarts including Gambhir, Sehwag, Yuvraj and Zaheer have failed to find rehabilitation in the side, although the performances of their supposed replacements (Dhawan for Sehwag and Gambhir, Jadeja for Yuvraj, Ishant for Zaheer) have been far from encouraging. Cook, on his part, has drawn considerable flak for the mismanagement of Pietersen, Trott and Swann - the casualties of the Australia tour. And only to add, the seniors in his current squad, including Ian Bell, Matt Prior and himself, seem far removed from the enthusiasm of the young guns.
It's well possible that what seems like the mishandling of seniors stems from the fact that both Dhoni and Cook are leading sides under generational transition. And unlike the Australian public, the Indian and English followers are less willing to see a senior veteran get thrown out of the squad unceremoniously. But Cook has a larger problem - his own authority within the England team. With the captain's own performances turning ever more disastrous with each passing day, seniors within the England side (starting with Pietersen whilst he was there) are beginning to question the leadership credentials of Alastair Cook and whether he should be captain at all. Unfortunately, it's harder for Alastair Cook to convince his superiors and teammates that he is a deserving captain than it is for MS Dhoni. For one, Cook isn't a multiple World Cup winning captain. Second, his task is made much harder by the fact that he's an opening batsman. Opening batsmen are more susceptible to excessive scrutiny than middle-order batsmen, for the obvious reason that they are the most visible. If MS Dhoni is running through a miserable patch as a batsman, he can still hide behind the force of a fairly formidable and star-studded top-order, or even behind his own showings as a world-class wicketkeeper. Alastair Cook doesn't have that luxury.
It does seem like the England team are expecting a bit too much out of their captain. On the one hand, everyone expects him to lead a team undergoing a difficult phase of transition. On the other, they expect him to do it while his own authority is openly under question. If Cook doesn't find form soon and restore faith in those under and above him, England are headed for a tumultuous World Cup campaign Down Under next year. Perhaps the wiser option would be to identify and groom a more suitable leader before that tournament.
On the field, you find two teams in painful transition. India's legacy of relative overseas success under Sourav Ganguly has evaporated following the post-World Cup debacles in England and Australia (and later, in South Africa and New Zealand, where MS Dhoni's men failed to tally much in terms of results). The young boys of Indian cricket, to many, seem over-addicted to T20 cricket and incapable still of filling the big boots of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman (to be fair to them, those are some king-sized boots).
 |
| Tactful Twosome: Cook has it harder than Dhoni |
In many ways, even the two captains seem to have much in common. Much like MS Dhoni, Alastair Cook faces intense media interrogation back in England, with the mikes and cameras following him everywhere. And much like Dhoni, Cook proves to be ever reclusive in the spotlight, soft-spoken and diplomatic in press conferences and almost stoic in the face of journalistic aggression. Cook and Dhoni don't quite follow the old-school Australian principle of 'give 'em as good as you get', both preferring rather to stay away from the whole ordeal as far as possible. Expectedly then, all of the 'inter-personal battle' hype prior to the start of the series was created and sustained entirely by the media, with players from neither side choosing to add any venom to the contest (surprisingly, even James Anderson's reported punch at Ravindra Jadeja in the dressing rooms of Nottingham hasn't quite escalated to too much).
There are other striking similarities between both Dhoni and Cook. Both seem to enjoy captaining younger players more than the senior ones. Under Dhoni's watch, following the retirement of all the great legends, other stalwarts including Gambhir, Sehwag, Yuvraj and Zaheer have failed to find rehabilitation in the side, although the performances of their supposed replacements (Dhawan for Sehwag and Gambhir, Jadeja for Yuvraj, Ishant for Zaheer) have been far from encouraging. Cook, on his part, has drawn considerable flak for the mismanagement of Pietersen, Trott and Swann - the casualties of the Australia tour. And only to add, the seniors in his current squad, including Ian Bell, Matt Prior and himself, seem far removed from the enthusiasm of the young guns.
It's well possible that what seems like the mishandling of seniors stems from the fact that both Dhoni and Cook are leading sides under generational transition. And unlike the Australian public, the Indian and English followers are less willing to see a senior veteran get thrown out of the squad unceremoniously. But Cook has a larger problem - his own authority within the England team. With the captain's own performances turning ever more disastrous with each passing day, seniors within the England side (starting with Pietersen whilst he was there) are beginning to question the leadership credentials of Alastair Cook and whether he should be captain at all. Unfortunately, it's harder for Alastair Cook to convince his superiors and teammates that he is a deserving captain than it is for MS Dhoni. For one, Cook isn't a multiple World Cup winning captain. Second, his task is made much harder by the fact that he's an opening batsman. Opening batsmen are more susceptible to excessive scrutiny than middle-order batsmen, for the obvious reason that they are the most visible. If MS Dhoni is running through a miserable patch as a batsman, he can still hide behind the force of a fairly formidable and star-studded top-order, or even behind his own showings as a world-class wicketkeeper. Alastair Cook doesn't have that luxury.
It does seem like the England team are expecting a bit too much out of their captain. On the one hand, everyone expects him to lead a team undergoing a difficult phase of transition. On the other, they expect him to do it while his own authority is openly under question. If Cook doesn't find form soon and restore faith in those under and above him, England are headed for a tumultuous World Cup campaign Down Under next year. Perhaps the wiser option would be to identify and groom a more suitable leader before that tournament.
