Ranchi, Jan 17 (PTI) : Mahendra Singh Dhoni's first coach Chanchal Bhattacharya today heaped praise on his beleaguered ward saying criticising the Indian skipper would be like questioning the run-making ability of Sachin Tendulkar.

The 49-year-old Bhattacharya, under whom Dhoni made the life-changing switch from being a football goalkeeper to a wicketkeeper in 1995, feels the critics should refrain from making negative statements.

"The other day (Sunil) Gavaskar was after Dhoni's captaincy and recently (after the win in Kochi) I've heard him saying there cannot be a captain like him," Bhattacharya told PTI.

"Criticism is always welcome but it should be healthy. You should understand everyday is not a Sunday. He has given you all the titles -- from the World T20 title, the World Cup victory and being No 1 in Tests. It's like questioning the ability of Tendulkar's run-making skills."

But looking at the tremendous workload of Dhoni, Bhattacharya said the Indian skipper can consider giving up one format by 2014.

"Looking at World Cup 2015, I'm sure he's seriously thinking about giving up one format. However, we never spoke about it. It's been a long time -- since February -- that we las spoke," Bhattacharya said.

Fans are all excited about seeing Ranchi's favourite son in his own backyard for the first time, but Bhattacharya is a little jittery.

"Like any other coach, I'm nervous. I pray to God that he does well and the team wins on the day. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

"Definitely there will be pressure for home ground for Mahi, but I still believe he would keep his cool demeanour and perform up to the expectations of thousands of fans."

Recollecting Dhoni's childhood, Bhattacharya, who is the sports head in Central University of Jharkhand, said he had spotted the ability in the Indian skipper very early.

"He was dedication personified. If I told him to make 10 laps, he would complete it at any cost. But at the same time, he's very down to earth and courteous, which is the hallmark of a leader.

"I used to go to his school Jawahar Vidya Mandir. When I saw him first in 1995, he was a football goalkeeper and I asked him whether he would like to play cricket and do wicket-keeping," he said.

"He batted at No 9 in the first match and did a good job behind the stumps and never looked back," Bhattacharya signed off.

Emphatic return of Dhoni the batsman
DHNS
 
Just recall a few of the statements that MS Dhoni has come up with in the last one week.

On the eve of the first one-dayer in Rajkot the Indian skipper said he never questions his ability and after the nine-run loss to England the next day, he remarked: “I don’t want to sound arrogant but if I had stayed for a couple of more overs, things would have been different.”

Coming from someone who has lost more than he had achieved as a captain in the last two years, those words may indeed sound a bit cocky but Dhoni knows how to walk the talk. On Tuesday, coming in to bat with India finding themselves in a familiar situation after another top-order failure, Dhoni constructed an innings that was at once measured and marauding, calculated and catastrophic.

When Dhoni begins to bat like this wherein he sizes up the situation, sets a target in the mind and goes about that job in an unobtrusive manner, you can literally feel the storm brewing inside. You can expect an explosion and nine out of ten times, he doesn’t fail your hunch. The bowlers too sense what’s going to hit them but appear utterly helpless. It’s as though he pries on their psyche. And it’s almost like he derives great pleasure in their misery.

“You try and put the bowlers under the same kind of pressure that you are feeling in the middle and that’s the time it’s all about nerves. Whoever holds his nerve better will come out winner,” said Dhoni about his method in the middle. Even as the team’s fortunes have plummeted further, Dhoni has rediscovered the batsman in him. In the last five ODIs since the Pakistan series, he has aggregated 307 runs at a whopping average of over 102. His good form is certainly rubbing on his captaincy too.

Clearly, there is a method in the madness he unleashes. “It’s (putting bowlers under pressure) not an easy thing to do,” Dhoni added as an afterthought. “What you have to remember is that when you are looking to play those big shots, one of them might go to the fielder and you may get out. You have to look for gaps, you have to see what the bowlers are looking to do. Just try and remain one step ahead of what the opposition wants to do or what their plan of action is. That really helps. It’s a difficult thing to do but it’s going on well right now,” he explained.

The helicopter shot, which he generously used to good effect on Tuesday, is his greatest ally in putting the bowlers under duress. When he gets it right, the yorkers, particularly the off-side line yorkers, become ineffective. It’s an extremely difficult shot to play though.

As much as it takes out of a paceman to bowl in the hole, Dhoni has to expend as much energy to execute that stroke to perfection. Of course, it helps that he has powerful wrists and tremendous bat speed.

“It fetches me a lot of runs,” Dhoni noted. “It’s not an easy shot to play with a heavy bat. But you can go underneath the ball and still get a bit of an elevation and look to go over the infield, if you’re not looking for a big six. It’s something I used to play when I played tennis ball cricket. That’s something everybody plays in India and everyone thinks he is Sachin Tendulkar! That has really helped me, especially to have good command in the last 10 overs when the bowlers are looking for yorkers, or even the short pitched delivery, which you can flick,” he reasoned.

India may be struggling to unearth a suitable bowler in the death but when it comes to ‘death batting’ they have the best in world as England skipper Alastair Cook acknowledged. “It’s very tough when you’ve got people like Dhoni in at the end. He’s probably the best player in the world in those situations and these conditions,” he pointed out with as much awe as respect.

Dhoni’s arrival creates chaos

MS Dhoni’s arrival in his home town of Ranchi expectedly had hundreds of fans thronging his home where the entire Indian team had come for dinner on Wednesday evening, reports DHNS from Ranchi.

Thousands had gathered on the streets from the airport to the team hotel to receive the players but they were left disappointed as the cricketers were whisked away by the cops on arrival. As news spread the Indian team was visiting Dhoni’s home, the crowd milled around in hundreds and the police had to use mild force to disperse them.