In recent times Sachin Tendulkar, we have been told, has written to the BCCI about not accepting the captaincy and has spoken about being unhappy with the way the seniors have been treated. He didn’t say that but for all of India to be told that he did can be stressful. And how about this line from a young reporter about Dhoni’s decision to bat at number four. “Could it be that he did so deliberately in order to delay Dravid’s return?” Should Dhoni contradict such nonsense, such immaturity, and spend the rest of his captaincy contradicting things? Or should he let falsehood roam merrily in his kingdom?

Captains, you might say, must take this in their stride. There is a familiar, but poor, argument that I often hear. If they are willing to take praise for anything they must take this kind of criticism too. But two wrongs don’t make a right, especially if neither is true! You and I wouldn’t take it, so why should they? Captains and leaders have to be sensitive and caring; they must have conviction but being thick-skinned cannot be the prime qualification.

So who should India’s next captain be? I believe it rests on the answer to one question. Are we confident about Dhoni’s cricket in Australia? If the selectors are, the meeting should get over before tea is asked for. If however they believe that he is still on the learning curve, like he so obviously was in the first few weeks in England, then they need to look at the only other names in the hat.

... contd.