To hell with the critics, Dhoni, you have taken the right decision

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MS Dhoni… he has played far more than any of the Indian players since 2007 and deserves his time away from the games © Getty Images

The Ranji Trophy 2012 kicks off in the most uncharacteristic circumstances in recent times. Majority of the Indian Test stars are set to turn up for their respective sides in the premier domestic competition – something we haven’t seen for quite a while. While the big names such as Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and Gautam Gambhir would be gearing for the English challenge, Mahendra Singh Dhoni would be conspicuous by his absence on the domestic front. The Indian captain is not going to play for Jharkhand in their Ranji opener due to cough and cold.

Dhoni’s decision not to play the Ranji Trophy game has drawn flak. Some suggest that the Indian captain should have played the game like many of his illustrious team-mates to prepare for the big Test series ahead against England. These suggestions may be because Tendulkar – a man who has earned the right to pick and choose his assignments – is turning out for Mumbai in their Ranji opener. “If Tendulkar can make himself available for Mumbai, why can’t Dhoni do the same for Jharkhand?” ask the critics.

Indeed, Dhoni hasn’t played in the Ranji Trophy since March 2005. In fact, he has played only one Ranji encounter since his international debut. His last appearance for Jharkhand was in 2007 during the domestic T20 tournament. Jharkhand isn’t a big team on the domestic scene and Dhoni’s iconic presence means a lot to the team.

But before being judgmental about Dhoni’s decision, the fact that the Indian captain is the busiest international cricketer going around should not be forgotten. He has had the occasional breather, but despite those isolated breaks, the number of games he has played over the last five years is much more than any other Indian cricketer.

Here is a list of players who have played the most international fixtures since September 12, 2007:

The date September 12, 2007 is significant because Dhoni played his first game as captain of the Indian team the next day. Since he assumed the leadership, his workload has certainly increased as he has been a common factor in majority of India’s games.

A look at an India specific list starting from the same date:

It is evident from this list that Dhoni’s workload on the international scene has been far greater than most of his team-mates. Add to that, the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Champions League T20 (CLT20) assignments. Chennai Super Kings have made it to most of the IPL finals and the CLT20s – which certainly adds more games to Dhoni’s plate.

Dhoni has a very unique role – not just in the context of Indian cricket but world cricket in general. Hardly have we seen a man captain a side in all the formats and keep wickets at the same time. He also handles the same responsibilities for the Chennai Super Kings. Kumar Sangakkara is an example of a wicket-keeper captaining his side, but the gloves have been handled by Prasanna Jayawardene in the Tests. Undoubtedly, it is a very stressful job and not many would have handled it even half as well as Dhoni has.

To sum up, Dhoni does deserve a break to recharge his batteries and get back into the scheme of things. He is on the run for most parts of the year and such breaks would not only help him physically but also psychologically. Of course, it’s entirely another matter whether he would have opted to sit out of Chennai Super Kings’ assignments? Or, rather, allowed to sit out!

(Nishad Pai Vaidya is Correspondent with CricketCountry and an analyst, anchor and voice-over artist for the site’s YouTube Channel. He shot to fame by spotting a wrong replay during IPL4 which resulted in Sachin Tendulkar’s dismissal. His insights on the game have come in for high praise from cerebral former cricketers. He has also participated on live TV talk-shows on cricket. Nishad can be followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/nishad_44)