Is M.S.Dhoni an effective leader?

Is M.S.Dhoni an effective leader?

India-New Zealand 2014 Test Series brought no gains to Indian team. All it resulted in was a debate about where the Indian team is heading under the captaincy of M.S Dhoni. M.S Dhoni is one of the India’s most successful captains. But the recent defeats in New Zealand Series, Asia Cup and South Africa have raised questions on the M.S Dhoni leadership skills.

Yes

• Mahendra Singh Dhoni is India’s most successful cricket captain leading India to win three world titles.

• Dhoni wisely makes use of the team players and their skills set for the benefit of team. It was evident when he entrusted Joginder Sharma with the final over of the 2007 twenty-twenty match.

• Global management consultancy Hay Group conducted a research study and described the leadership of MS Dhoni as "visionary and participatory”.

• Leaders are not shy of the place from where they come from. In fact they believe in spreading the idea what an individual from an unknown small city or place can do. Dhoni proved it that you and your actions performed in the right direction have the strength to change the world.

• Dhoni always lead his team by example. He shared the credit of team success and accepted the failures and blames with grace. He adjusted as per the changing times. It can be seen when he promoted himself up on the batting order and hit 91 not out to lead India to the World Cup triumph

• Dhoni managed a team of star players as well as of new comers. He handled well the egos of different people and kept the team spirit at its best in the challenging conditions.

• Dhoni has an ability to stay calm and keep his cool with a seemingly uncluttered mind. A composed mind is must to snatch a win in stressful games.

No

• Dhoni always said that he believed in the team. Then what made him lose his composure and come out with a FU sign for his team mates to play a selfish innings in January 2013 India-Pakistan Match. This in no way is a leadership trait to humiliate the team members and bring the weaker side of the team in front of world. It is the first time in the history of cricket that a captain showed his anger and frustration with a FU sign to his teammates.

• Dhoni has been given ample time to prove his mettle. Dhoni has a test record of 26 victories, 14 defeats and 13 draws in 53 games. 11 of the fourteen losses have come in his second innings of being a captain. It is a no joke that the last time India won a test abroad was in June 2011 in the West Indies.

• Leadership is not about having all the resources but it is about utilization of the resources in best way. But in the recent matches, Dhoni has everything, all the resources and the best players but still he failed to bag a win in any of the series in West Indies, England, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. And to the worst, all defeats were tried to cover up with excuses.

• India won the toss in all the matches in the New Zealand series and still cannot convert a single match into a mind-blowing victory.

• If you see the matches in Johannesburg and in Wellington in the last few months, you will feel like India was playing for the opposition team. The reason for the failure was certainly misplaced field positions and bizarre team selection by M.S. Dhoni. It is evident when Ravindra Jadeja bowled over the wicket to Brendon Mccullum in a close match.

• Dhoni is looking like a fatigued captain who has lost his composure and cannot successfully implement his own solid winning ways. It can be seen in New Zealand Match when he was not able to implement his own ‘leather-chasing’ field placement

• A good leader excels in all kind of situations. M.S Dhoni has failed to deliver in the test matches. A good leader knows his weaknesses and works to improve on it. It was never a case with Dhoni. Dhoni don’t have the approach that is required to grab consecutives wins in test matches.

• Nothing succeeds like success but then it is the captain who has to decide when he should leave his legacy to handover the responsibilities to a capable person for the benefit of team. A true leader does that. When is Dhoni going to realize that?

Conclusion

Ever since Dhoni became a captain India has witnessed many grand victories, but at the same time the country is seeing a drastic phase of continuous failures which is a shame for a cricket team. No doubt cricket is a game of win and loss but then in any case a series of defeats is unacceptable when you have everything right from the state-of-the-art resources to the best skilled men.