'Midas' or 'Made As'?

The origin of the word 'Midas' can be traced back to ancient times when a certain king of Phrygia named Midas possessed the ability to transform into gold, whatever he touched. And soon after this myth was revealed several disambiguations of the word 'Midas' started pouring in from all corners. From asteroids and formulas to companies and dramas - the word Midas has been extensively used throughout the past century or so.

So is it true - the fact that Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the captain of the Indian cricket team is indeed the man with the 'Midas' touch? Or was it just sheer brilliance and a little bit of luck? When results were coming in, the Midas of Indian cricket was all hailed and now that things have seemed to get a bit nervy, I have no doubt to state that perhaps everything was bit of an eyewash, there was always a difference between the terms - 'lucky' and 'made as lucky'.

How did the 'lucky guy' of Indian cricket help in winning the World T20 in 2007 and also help in disgracing the nation at the 2009 edition of the same event? A bit of questions answered here.

WORLD T20 2007, South Africa:

A team haunted by the ghosts of the Fifty over World Cup in West Indies early that year had been rejuvenated with a new boost of confidence. The tour of the United Kingdoms had proved to be quite fruitful under the captaincy of Rahul Dravid where India managed to win the tri series involving South Africa and Ireland as well as the Test Series against England. Although they narrowly missed out of the 7 match ODI series (losing it 4-3) - it was surely a commendable performance by the team which was chucked out of the World Cup by minnows Bangladesh. As another World Cup approached in South Africa (T20) - concerns were being raised all over again. Our stars - Ganguly, Dravid and Tendulkar were in the 'tiresome thirties' and question marks arose regarding the statuses of their fitness levels. As wisdom alone prevails, all three opted out of the tournament and this saw the rise of a captain who had never ever captained a team even at district level, MS Dhoni.

Expectations were less on a team where the average age was 27 and the senior most player by age was Sehwag. A raw batting line up and a young bowling line up high on potential made their way into the team bus. What followed was a fantastic show of the exuberance of youth and the madness of Indian cricket. The 'boys' of Ganguly and Dravid had fully matured and there they were jumping on to every ball that passed them and sending every loose delivery to the stands. They humiliated the English, Proteas and the Australians and then silenced the mighty Pakistanis. The entire tournament was one of those plays at the end of which you see the resurrection of the Good. A year started by a disaster was actually having a nice end. Dhoni lifted the World T20 and made the nation of a billion proud. But why did India actually win the World Cup? It was not because Dhoni was lucky neither was it because our boys batted, bowled and fielded like maniacs - there was more to this.

Why India won the World T20?

1. Once the trio of Dravid, Tendulkar and Ganguly opted out, a lot of breathing space was created for the juniors in the dressing room. For a new captain this was the ideal atmosphere to prove his mettle without any one to question his decisions.
2. Irfan Pathan, Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh - all were making a come-back into the Indian team. They had a lot to prove, so the T20 world cup was the only arena for them.
3. Yuvraj Singh wanted to establish himself as a player of repute in a middle order dominated by the likes of Laxman, Dravid, Tendulkar and Ganguly.
4. People like Uthappa and Yusuf Pathan were relatively young at the International stage and as a result they had little to lose but everything to gain. As a result they grasped the opportunities.
5. Yuvraj's one man efforts against England and Australia and Gambhir's heroic single handed effort against Pakistan in the finals hogged more of the limelight from their counter parts. It would not be wrong to say that yes, India were poor in some of the matches where individual brilliance helped in lifting the team. Collective team efforts were lacking.
6. In the case (5), Dhoni cannot be given the credit for doing something out of the box to ensure the team's victory. Certain elements and factors had gone India's way that helped in making India the world T20 champs.

WORLD T20 2009, England:

Like the appearance of the Haley's comet - the Indian Cricket team were actually entering a tournament with the favourites tag. A bunch of jaded, jet lagged and fatigued players were selected for the tournament right after the completion of the much so hyped INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE. A cash filled tournament had drained out the energy from every cricketer. More or less the same team that won the world cup in 2007 was retained, but the only difference was that they were established players. None had much to prove in the World Stage and most of them were carrying niggles from the IPL. Another factor that led to their complacency was that they were in a group consisting of Ireland and Bangladesh, which many considered to be a cake walk. They went on to the Super 8s and suffered a drubbing of a large scale at the hands of West Indies, England and South Africa. Surprisingly, the champs of 2007 did not manage to win any game against a team of significance. The West Indians had exposed the incapabilities of the line up against the short ball while the English showed how bad the Indians were in fielding and restricting the extras. Against South Africa, the bowling was commendable but the much famed spin masters were all entangled by the spin bowling of Joan Botha of South Africa. A poor outing marked by a few controversies, on and off the field left the Indian team stranded. They were far away from redemption.

Why India lost the T20 World Cup in England?

1. The fitness factor which was always supposed to be a bit of a concern exposed the teams weaknesses.
2. Tactical errors by the 'famed' Indian captain led to the downfall of the team in many occasions.
3. Controversy related to the injury of Virender Sehwag indicated that the team was no longer a well knit unit as it used to be.
4. The defensive tactics employed by sending Jadeja ahead of himself were not at all appreciated. It cost India a crucial match and MS Dhoni was more or less accountable.
5. Players casually stepped on to the field with their pot belly and triple chins and the signs were ominous regarding their commitment towards the game. There was a lack of assertiveness on the field and most of the times, the players appeared confused of what they were supposed to do.
6. The team members had achieved a lot of fame in the just concluded IPL 2. They no longer found it good enough to perform at world stage for their country. The lackadaisical and complacent attitude and over confidence about their abilities with a psychophysically tired captain made matters worse. India were not even 10% of what they were a couple of years back.

And hence, it is not always that luck matters. MS Dhoni cannot be called the man with the 'Midas' touch as he is far from it. Comparing the greatest and the worst tournament of his career would expose certain prevalent facts turned a blind eye towards. If at all, Dhoni was a lucky man and it was only because of his captaincy for which India has ascertained itself in the rankings then the recent World T20 would not have been a disaster as it had been. Dhoni's captaincy skills should never be questioned but one should always remember that it was because the right men were present at the right time in his team that Dhoni went on to become a very successful captain.

While taking up captaincy, he had the best available team which none of the previous captains had. Kapil Dev had a team that lacked killer instincts while Sourav Ganguly got a young, unpolished and a meek team suspected of match fixing. None of the two greatest captains of Indian cricket had established stars like Dhoni got when he ascended captaincy.

To declare Dhoni to be the best Indian captain would be a bit dodgy as he has a lot more to prove. And his litmus test will begin when the Dravids, Tendulkars and Laxmans start retiring. Will Dhoni prevail then? Only time can tell.