Blame it on me, says Dhoni
Indian skipper rues lack of consistent efforts
Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said he was the one to blame for India’s abject surrender in the series against Australia.
“I need to blame myself because I am the leader of this side. Of course, I am the main culprit, so I blame myself," Dhoni told newsmen on Sunday.
Dhoni said this has been one of the worst phases in the history of Indian cricket. "The amount of cricket I have seen, this is definitely one of the worst phases where we have not done consistently well,” he noted.
Dhoni went on, “But I don't blame myself tactically because it involves all the players. Execution is very important. If everyone bowls one line, you have the option of defending that side of the field and also have catching fielders," he said. “If you are not consistent, it becomes very difficult. That's what the Australian line-up has taught us, how to be consistent in bowling, and forcing the batsmen to commit mistakes."
Dhoni also defended coach Duncan Fletcher. “He’s a great guy to have. It's not like he has become the coach and we have lost two series. He's not to be blamed for all the defeats. Coaches can motivate and help in technical areas, but it's up to 11 players to go out and perform."
On former India captain Sourav Ganguly’s criticism that he’s no longer serious about Test cricket, Dhoni said, "It's only I who know whether I take it seriously or not. It is difficult for others to judge it. As for my graph as a batsman and as a captain, it does worry me. You are part of this side because of what you are. It's important to be in the present and think what needs to be done for the name of the country to go up. It hasn't happened in the last seven Tests that we have played outside.”
Dhoni said the batsmen needed to put runs on the board consistently to take the pressure off bowlers. “The batsmen are consistently failing. We have to score at least 300-325 runs. We haven’t been able to do," he said. "There's only been one instance in England and Australia combined when we have made over 350 runs.
“That's something we need to be careful about. You want to give bowlers those amount of runs, so they can look to get the opposition out."
The wicketkeeper-batsman also stressed the need to manage personnel properly in such tough circumstances. "It's important to know what kind of culture you belong to, what really works for your side. I feel every player needs to be managed in a separate way.
There are certain players you need to get personal and go to him and explain things. Then there are some who have to be treated differently (cracking the whip)
“Most of our players have really step up when it’s needed. There are no need to take extreme measures. We all are feeling bad. We are professional cricketers but we are humans too. We run on emotions.”
