What a Gamble!

Sourav once aptly said that Dhoni has got one very important attribute of a good captain - Luck. The more I see Dhoni's captaincy the more I agree with Sourav's assessment*. This is not to take anything away from Dhoni's tactical nous as a captain which in general is good but to reinforce that not everything that works can be attributed to the merits of his captaincy.

How do you categorize Dhoni's decision to play Sreesanth ahead of Ishant in the 11? Retrospectively we might call it a master stroke but prospectively it was anywhere between a stupid decision to a bold gamble. But then the appetite for a gamble is what separates good captains from ordinary ones. Remember the Mark Taylor style of declaration - almost every declaration of his was a bit of a gamble. Its a shame that he was succeeded by Steve Waugh and now the ultra cautious Ponting! As much as I didn't approve of the decision to play Sreesanth in the 11, I was glad to see Dhoni taking these gambles in critical matches rather playing it safe. Like Keynes said, in life its generally better to fail conventionally than succeed unconventionally!

The logical extension of this gamble should lead to Ojha being played ahead of Harbhajan when only one spinner needs to be played - in my opinion its a much lesser gamble given the way Harbhajan has been bowling of late.

* Once Mahela Jayawardene famously said "Its impossible to win a toss against Dhoni"!