Mahendra singh dhoni, no doubt is a great crowd puller. Whenever he enters the field with a bat in his hand, everybody expects him to score the fastest fifty or the fastest hundred. But is he the future Adam Gilchrist ? We better wait and watch.
Adam Gilchrist is regarded as the most dangerous of the contempory batsmen, only because he has proved himself time and again in different situations, against different countries and in difficult playing conditions. But dhoni, on the other hand has played against only a handful of opposition, and that too on the sub-continent tracks, that are heavily loaded in favour of the batsmen.
Before making him the next Adam Gilchrist , there are a few questions that have to be answered.
Can he face the Australian bowlers in the fast and bouncy tracks of Australia ?
Can he face the South African bowling attack in the South African pitches, where every touring team struggles.
Can he handle the swinging ball in the fluctuating English climate
Can he handle the seaming ball in the New Zeland pitches, where there is so much grass (especially when India tours), that even a cow can have its stomach full.
We may not get the answers to all the above questions so soon. That is why I say it is better to wait for some time and then to form a opinion about whether he has the capability to emulate Adam Gilchrist
I am not saying that Dhoni will fail in the conditions mentioned above. As everyone knows, he has the potential to destroy every bowling attack in the world.
But cricket is such a game, where we have seen many instances of the potential not getting reflected in the performance.
Having said all that, it is definitely a treat to watch Mahendra Singh Dhoni hit a six of the ball which is hurled to him at more than 90 miles an hour and looking back at the bowler, as if saying ’’ Take this’’. We can only hope that dhoni succeeds against all the opposition, in all conditions and take the game to a new high. If he does, I am sure the popularity of the game will reach new heights, in India and all over world.