Dhoni should be banned from representing India: Tom Alter

Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni who declared his retirement even before completing the ongoing test series in Australia, should be banned from representing India ever again, said theatre artist Tom Alter.

Alter in an interview said that like Navjot Singh Sidhu and Lala Amarnath, MS Dhoni also left a series overseas in the middle, that too as a captain.

In his article, Alter said, "Both were branded as villains, and traitors and this gentleman leaves a series, that too as captain, and is then eulogized!"

Expessing his displeasure over Dhoni's retirement from Tests, he said, "Mahendra Singh Dhoni chooses to exit before he is removed - and with arrogance, such blind faith in his image."

"He should be banned from representing India ever again. He has not only broken his contract, he has broken a sacred bond with those of us who truly love Indian cricket and he does not give a damn. Why? Because he is the corporate favourite, the boss' and the bosses' favourite, and for them losing  or winning is not important, it is all  'brand' and money and such total and utter rubbish," reported First Post.

After helping India to draw the third Test against Australia in Melbourne, Indian skipper MS Dhoni in a shocking decision announced his retirement from Test cricket on December 30. Virat Kohli will lead India in the fourth Test starting on January 6 in Sydney. Dhoni retires, Kohli to lead

Dhoni was unbeaten on 24 in his final Test innings for India on day five of the third Test in Melbourne. However, at the end of the match during the formal press conference for the captain, he didn't mention about retirement. The news was made public through a BCCI tweet and statement. Earlier also Dhoni had said about his intentions of retiring from Tests after the 2015 World Cup.

He had played 90 Tests for India, scoring 4876 runs, six centuries and affecting 294 dismissals. Dhoni made his Test debut in 2005 against Sri Lanka in Chennai.

Under his captaincy during the last four years, India didn't win a single series overseas. He captained India in 60 Tests and had 27 wins, 18 losses and 15 draws.

Manmohan wanted to give Bharat Ratna to Atal, Narasimha Rao but failed: Baru

NEW DELHI: Former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee may have been honoured with a Bharat Ratna by the UPA government if PM Manmohan Singh had his way. Former media adviser to PM Singh, Sanjaya Baru told TOI that he had suggested that both Vajpayee and former PM Narasimha Rao be given the Bharat Ratna together and Singh had agreed. However the proposal never saw light of day, Baru said, indicating there could have been reluctance on the part of the Congress party to bestow the nation's highest civilian honour on the two former PMs.

Recollecting the days when Singh was in office, Baru said, "Every year for four years from 2004 onwards when the subject of the Bharat Ratna was discussed, I would suggest that both former PMs be given the Bharat Ratna. The PM would agree but it would end at that. I don't know if he broached the subject with Congress president Sonia Gandhi or if it was shot down."

Author of the controversial "The Accidental Prime Minister" on his years as media advisor to PM (2004-2008) Baru hinted that there was reluctance within the Congress on both names. He added," The BJP also lost a fine opportunity. If they had given Rao the honour it would have looked like a gesture of bipartisanship."
Currently director of geo-economics and strategy at the International Institute of Strategic Studies, Baru's book was dismissed by the PMO as a work of fiction.

MS Dhoni Quitting Tests in a Huff Reflects State of Flux in India Cricket

MS Dhoni's decision to quit Test cricket and his reluctance to talk about the suddenness of this massive career call has fuelled speculation on his future. Having being bred in a system that lacks transparency, Dhoni's silence reflects the current state of flux in a leaderless Board of Control for Cricket in India. 

Given the fact that Dhoni is India's most successful captain, he deserved a fitting farewell. After guiding India to a face-saving draw at Melbourne Cricket Ground earlier this week, Dhoni quietly grabbed a stump as a souvenir. He loves collecting souvenirs but to pick one in a drawn match is something Dhoni may have done for the first time

in his career. Of course, the 33-year-old knew what he was doing.

At the end of a match fraught with frayed tempers, thanks to streaks of immaturity in vice-captain Virat Kohli, Dhoni exchanged pleasantries with the Aussie players, never for a moment hinting that he had played his last Test match at a historic venue. Unlike Sachin Tendulkar, who chose his home turf - Wankhede Stadium - to bow out, Dhoni quietly walked into the sunset of a roller-coaster Test career. There were no guard of honour, no standing ovation and no drama. They called it the 'Mahi Way.

The Mahi Way was certainly not a happy ending. Former teammates VVS Laxman and Sourav Gangulydemanded that Dhoni owed his fans an explanation. Yes, his lack of ideas in the longer format of the game often surfaced on overseas tours, but Dhoni still came up with masterstrokes. Having a leg-slip for the dangerous Steven Smith at Melbourne was certainly one of them. The Aussie captain flicked a rank bad ball from Umesh Yadav only to see Ajinkya Rahane take a fine catch.

BCCI announced Dhoni's retirement through a press release. Secretary Sanjay Patel was extensively quoted by the media. Patel called Dhoni's decision "lion-hearted." "He is not the one who would want a fitting farewell," Patel said. Whatever the circumstances were, the BCCI failed in its duty to give Dhoni a more graceful exit. It clearly reflected on a cricket Board that for the first time, ran without an 'official' president.

Patel, by default, is the chief executive officer of the BCCI. So speaking to him was nothing but a formality. Dhoni had obviously made up his mind over a period of time. But did Dhoni speak to N. Srinivasan, the embattled czar of Indian cricket, who stood like a rock behind during Dhoni's tumultuous times? That's the million-dollar question.

If Dhoni managed to keep his captaincy intact despite losing eight overseas on-the-trot in 2011-12, it was because Srinivasan trusted the skipper's abilities more than the selectors. Insiders say Srinivasan has always been Dhoni's 'god father.' The good times started when Srinivasan broke the bank in 2008 to buy Dhoni for his IPL team, Chennai Super Kings. Dhoni was even made vice-president of India Cements, the company that owns CSK. Srinivasan is the Managing Director of India Cements.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni Shouldn't Have Quit Tests Completely: Sourav Ganguly

Mahendra Singh Dhoni's decision to completely quit Test cricket has caught former India captain Sourav Ganguly by surprise. Like Sunil Gavaskar, Ganguly too feels Dhoni should have continued playing the longer format of the game even if he wasn't the captain.

Dhoni made a quiet exit after the third Test in Melbourne ended in a draw on Tuesday. With the series lost and the fourth Test in Sydney from January 6 only of academic interest, critics have questioned Dhoni's timing of retirement. Ganguly has been stumped too.

Ganguly said had Dhoni stepped down from captaincy and played for a few more years, Indian cricket would have benefitted immensely. "I feel the decision to give up captaincy was right, though I think the decision not to play Test cricket is an incorrect one," Ganguly wrote in the Hindustan Times.

"I have been in this situation before and I can bet it would have allowed Dhoni to play freely and do justice to his talent. We would have seen a rejuvenated Dhoni for the remaining part of his Test career as he still had cricket left in him," Ganguly said.

Ganguly had earlier said it was time for Dhoni to pass on the baton of Test captaincy to Virat Kohli, whose aggressive cricket and leadership is winning him fans at home and abroad.

The former India captain, who retired in 2008, said captaincy gets tougher with time and leading the team in all three formats besides keeping wickets would have taken its toll on Dhoni. Gavaskar spoke on similar lines, even saying playing IPL added to the international "burden.

Ganguly, not once to mince words, said he was surprised by the timing of Dhoni's retirement. India are 2-0 down after three Tests in the four-match series and many felt Dhoni deserted a sinking ship.

Ganguly said: "I would be brutally honest that I am surprised by the decision in the middle of the series. Three Tests are over and it was a question of one more. He could have finished it off.

"None of us know whether this decision in the middle of the series could have happened because of an injury, which would have ruled him out of the next Test. He did come into the series with a finger injury and none of us has an idea whether that had become worse," Ganguly wrote.

Ganguly was critical of the way reserve wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha batted in the first Test at the Adelaide Oval. Replacing an injured Dhoni in the series opener, Saha played a rash shot at a critical juncture in India's tense chase on the final day.

Maybe that lack of experience in the team is just why Ganguly feels Dhoni should have seen the series through and called it quits only after the final Test in Sydney starting in the new year.

India vs Australia third test match in Melbourne...

Australia vs India third test match in Melbourne is draw..