Coming back to the fold after controversy over excessive aggression under Test captain Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni — captain in T20’s and ODI’s said the aggression can be shown in other ways too.
“Aggression need not mean exchanging words or physical contact. Rahul Dravid had mentioned that aggression is like a good forward defence to a fast bowler. The same way, our guys are also learning how to channelise aggression in the right manner,” Dhoni said on Thursday during the pre-match press conference before facing South Africa. “It’s good to show intent, but at the same time you need to be in your guidelines. We have to make sure that everyone is available and that no disciplinary action needs to be taken against anyone.”
The overly aggressive tactics and play by Ishant Sharma against Sri lanka saw the tall Delhi bowler get suspended from the first Test in Mohali. His behaviour was ridiculed by many, including former India captain Bishan Singh Bedi who called it — “a pathetic display of aggression.” Others stated that his behavior stems from the captaincy of Kohli who is aggressive by nature too.
With three brilliant options in Kohli, Suresh Raina and himself to switch around, Dhoni said he would love to play higher up the order but stated that the team composition comes above all. “We have to see the side composition, who is best suited to bat at what position,” Dhoni asserted. “Most of our players are top-order batsmen, but when it comes to T20, they all bat at different positions. For example, Rohit opens the innings and Ajinkya Rahane is someone who bats middle order in ODIs and Tests but opens in IPl. So we have to see which individual is best at what position and based on that I’ll take the call.”
Talking about the bowling combination and what would be most ideal, he said: “We have four spinners, three proper seamers and a seaming all-rounder. So it gives you that luxury of going with the right combination, depending on the scenario.