Call of duty - should Gambhir take over the Cap of Leadership from Dhoni?

Losing the two test matches abroad has evidently raised a question in the mind of all cricket lovers of India: is it time for Gambhir to lead India at the international cricket? Well, it’s a difficult question to answer.

Gambhir, from the beginning of his international cricket career, has always been very impressive and classy and has efficiently shown his ability to lead a team in the recent final between KKR and CSK. Gambhir was down and out after two harrowing Test series abroad and was duly replaced by Virat Kohli as vice-captain of Team India. But after leading KKR to IPL glory, the question has certainly gained momentum.

It’s clear that from whatever he has done, he surely possess good qualities that a captain must contain. He is aggressive, supports his men and encourages them. Despite having scored heavily at first class level, Gambhir remained in and out of the team. It was not until 2007-08 that he finally established himself. He knows how difficult success is at international cricket.

On the other hand, “Mr. Cool” Dhoni has some unputdownable qualities. He can handle baffling situations in his own way. The way he faces the toughest situation on the field and the way he answers his opponents clearly indicates the inner abilities and mental stamina he has. Under him, India have won the T20 World Cup and ODI World Cup. The approach may be different but the fact is that Dhoni is equally brutal as a captain. One may argue that he is not as much efficient in Tests as he is at ODIs and T20s, but his brand of captaincy has worked in Tests as well. But the last eight Tests in England and Australia do question Dhoni’s also proved his ability as a Test skipper. He has, however led India to the No. 1 rankings for the first time.

Well, it must be mentioned here that Team India’s failure in the last two Test series was due to their batsmen’s utter inefficiency against fast, short and moving balls, and obviously not because of their captain. The English and Australian bowlers repeatedly took advantage of our batmen’s inability. In the eight Test matches which India lost, putting a question mark over Dhoni’s believability as a Test skipper, Gambhir has just scored one fifty: an 83 in the second innings on a batting-friendly Sydney pitch. But Virat Kohli’s selection as the vice-captain in place of Gambhir at the Asia Cup that followed the Australian tour was not without logic, as he was the only Indian to score a Test ton, while both the future captains – Sehwag and Gambhir – fared terribly.

Well, it is injustice to compare Dhoni’s and Gambhir’s batting because Dhoni has to play the role of skipper and wicketkeeper-batsman while Gambhir is generally an opener.

So, should Dhoni be penalized for the failure of our batsmen in those test matches and replaced? Will Gambhir be able to handle the situation, and will it be justified to compare a man with real experiences with a man who has shown his abilities in IPL?

Whatever may happen in future it is clear that both of them possesses the power of captaincy and can take care of the shortcomings and their leadership qualities are sure to lead Indian cricket to.