No need to attribute motives to Dhonis remark on 30-plus seniors,take note of it After finding himself in the company of tailenders while chasing unrealistic targets thrice in a weeks time,Indian captain M.S. Dhoni went on to speak an inconvenient truth: that including all the three seniors Sachin Tendulkar,Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir in the playing XI would mean that the team would concede about 20 extra runs while fielding. Think with an impassive mind and the comment is an honest assessment by a captain who knows the importance of each run. When you scamper for a manic three on the final ball to tie a match,the worth of each step taken to cover the 22 yards hits home. It is this realisation that has made Dhoni a Run Shylock,a badge of honour that smart leaders in the modern version of the shortened game wear. Hiding fielders (read top-order batsmen) around the turf has been a duty Indian captains have religiously followed over the years. Posting them deep in the field,under the guise of patrolling the fence,was the modus operandi to pass the lazily elegant batsmen as fielders. But,lately,the ploy stopped working. Two can be outside the circle in the first 10 overs but what do you do with the other ageing? Besides,the XXL-sized Australian grounds made them look more ungainly. Slow-moving seniors with dodgy arm-strength easily concede extra runs 20 is,in fact,a conservative estimate. Compare them with athletic youngsters who dont just stop runs but also cause unexpected run-outs,and its a no-brainer that too many 30-plus in the playing XI is a fielding side made to order for rival batsmen. But when there are names like Tendulkar and Sehwag,one doesnt say such things. That was before Dhoni decided to speak.
