India - England Test Series @ India, 2012

Former Indian selectors and Test cricketer Mohinder Amarnath came down heavily on Indian skipper MS Dhoni asserting that he doesn't deserve a place in the Test team, let alone be the captain but Indian selectors don't have guts to remove him from the post.

"Dhoni doesn’t find a place in the team. What has he done for the team in the last one year? He is not fit (to be in the team) considering his performance in the last one year. However, the selection committee does not have guts to remove Dhoni,"

plum wrote:
Indian cricket ozhiga - I the support Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and West Indies. Even England.

plum wrote:But Wizzy, read the rest of Jimmy's statement - he wants Gambhir as captain. This is the Northie lobby at work

moththathula south indian vAzhvu dhAn paridhAbam - northies, mumbaikars and now even east zone fellers run the show and promote their interests.

N Seenu oru M Vijaykku rendu chance extra kuduthadhukku india ciricket varalARRulEyE most nepotistnu establish paNnittAinga Dastard North Indies

Indian cricket ozhiga - I the support Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and West Indies. Even England.

New Delhi: Following successive humiliations against England at Mumbai and Kolkata, MS Dhoni is said to have lodged a complaint with the BCCI against opener Gautam Gambhir’s attitude and on-field ethics.

Cricket portal Cricketnext.com carried a story on Wednesday that said “a member of the Indian team, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told their website that Dhoni feels that Gambhir puts his interest above the team and has become too self-centred and that the Indian captain has gone to the extent of lodging a complaint to the BCCI tagging Gambhir`s approach as `selfish` and `hurtful to the team`”.

The website has further quoted the player as saying, "Of late Gambhir has gone into a shell and focusing on just to save his place in the team. His prolonged poor form has resulted in low self-esteem and he`s cut off from other issues pertaining to the team," said the player.

"But what irked Dhoni was Gambhir playing for himself and not for the team. It was evident in the way Gambhir batted in the second innings of the Mumbai Test that he was more interested in carrying his bat by remaining not out, rather than shielding the tailenders and scoring quick runs.”

Notably Dhoni-Gambhir relationship has been under the scanner since last year when the media reported of an alleged rift between the skipper and Virender Sehwag. Gambhir was said to have spoken in Sehwag’s favour and ever since the relationship between the skipper and the two openers has been in the lime light for all the wrong reasons.

In the ongoing Test series, Gambhir was involved in two run-outs which changed the course of the game for India, and the left-hander’s current approach hasn’t gone well with the Indian skipper who is also facing a lot of criticism for his as well as the team’s lacklustre performance.

"Of late Gambhir has gone into a shell and focusing on just to save his place in the team. His prolonged poor form has resulted in low self-esteem and he's cut off from other issues pertaining to the team," said the player. "But what irked Dhoni was Gambhir playing for himself and not for the team. It was evident in the way Gambhir batted in the second innings of the Mumbai Test that he was more interested in carrying his bat by remaining not out, rather than shielding the tailenders and scoring quick runs.

"What possibly could be the reason behind taking singles off the first or second ball of an over and exposing the tailenders to Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar on a rank turner? India needed some runs on the board to give something to their bowlers. Every run was crucial but Gambhir chose to be a mute spectator. The whole world saw that and everyone was taken aback. The effort to contribute to the team wasn't there. Look how well R Ashwin batted with maturity during his unbeaten 91 in the Kolkata Test and he isn't a specialist batsman. He shepherded the tailenders superbly and scored vital runs. If Ashwin can do, why couldn't Gambhir?"
While assuaging thoughts of any bad blood between Dhoni and Gambhir, the source did, however, cite the run-outs of Virender Sehwag in the first innings of the Kolkata Test and Cheteshwar Pujara in the second as moments which precipitated India's downfall and left Dhoni miffed with Gambhir's current approach.

"On both occasions, Gambhir was at fault. While there were clearly three runs in Sehwag's case which Gambhir declined, the call for a run to Pujara was ill-judged. He was having a tough time against Steven Finn and wanted to get off the strike. His desperation cost Pujara his wicket. Dhoni doesn't have doubts about his integrity or commitment," he said. "Gambhir, obviously, didn't do anything deliberately. It's just that in his struggle to overcome poor form, he is overlooking team's interest and remains oblivious of team goals. This has not gone down well with Dhoni, who is determined to win the Nagpur Test and level the series, and he conveyed his thoughts to the BCCI officials in no uncertain terms.
"Dhoni and Gambhir are cordial with each other. Gambhir has scored a couple of half-centuries in the series and seems like getting his old form back. If he could clear the unwarranted cobwebs from his head, he's a fierce competitor. He has the backing of the team. One of the BCCI officials will speak to Gambhir before the match and the matter will be sorted out. It is important that all the members take the field in the last Test with the motto of giving their best shot," he concluded.

Meanwhile, a source close to Gambhir asserted that though the opener hasn't performed to the potential in this series, Dhoni is playing gimmicks to undermine Gambhir. "Dhoni's captaincy is under fire. He's being censured by one and all. His place in the Test team is questioned; his defensive and unimaginative mindset as a captain is unmasked, so he's trying to pass the buck and blame others - whether his batsmen, spinners, Sehwag and now Gambhir - to save his face," said the source. "He sees Gambhir as a potential threat to his captaincy and wants to undermine him. Mohinder Amarnath has tipped Gambhir to take over the captaincy from Dhoni and proclaimed that Dhoni uses his clout in the BCCI to push his agenda. He thinks that he can dictate terms in every matter. Look what happened during the Eden Gardens pitch episode? It's there for everyone to see. Gambhir has not set the stage on fire but he has demonstrated defiance in this series and a big score is just around the corner."

Dhoni wrote:India's Test side has not played so badly since 1999-2000 when a whitewash in Australia was followed by a 2-0 home series loss to South Africa. But this defeat to England is not the lowest point MS Dhoni has sunk to as an international cricketer.

After two whitewashes in England and Australia, India have now lost a Test series at home, their last piece of pride in Test cricket, but Dhoni said he has seen worse.

"It has been tough," Dhoni said after the draw in Nagpur that gave the series to England, "But there are not many things that will come close to when we lost the 2007 50-over World Cup. This is not even close to that."
....
...