Ramachandra Guha's letter, Dhoni’s contract and a cat amongst pigeons

Ramachandra Guha was, at best, a note of optimism in the Committee of Administrators. After all, what is a historian, idealist and writer doing amidst a bunch of sharks, untying knots that cannot be untied, even if the apex court in the country wills it. And he quit – a logical decision – in style, penning one of the most powerful pieces of literature in contemporary Indian cricket history.

Guha, with no personal stake in BCCI or Indian cricket beyond what a cricket fan and follower would have, asked questions that most well-informed Indian cricket fans would ask anyway.

While the jury is out on each of the questions asked by Guha – the superstar attitude that could possibly lead to the ousting of a successful and fiercely passionate coach, the conflict of interest with Sunil Gavaskar and other prominent cricketing personalities, the lack of action based on the Supreme Court mandate – one question might touch a nerve or two, given the fan following of Indian’s Captain Cool, MS Dhoni.

The argument

One of the pertinent points in Guha’s 7-point letter was about MS Dhoni being given an A grade contract even though he has retired from Test cricket in 2014. The A contract is BCCI’s most prestigious contract and has currently been given to only 7 players – Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Ravi Ashwin, Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravindra Jadeja and Murali Vijay.

Of the 7, only Virat Kohli is an automatic selection to India’s XI in all three formats of the game. That shows that Guha was probably a little too harsh singling out Dhoni. The Grade A players are paid an annual retainer of Rs.2 crore apart from the match fee.

The inequity in contracts

The pertinent question about contract grades can be seen through the kaleidoscope of multiple considerations:

#1 Should the Grade A contracts be given only to players available for all three formats?

#2 Should the Grade A contracts reward players for their performances in the past?

#3 Should the Grade A contracts reward players for how useful they are to the team?

One glance at the contracts and the disparity is obvious. The Grade A contracts seem to be going in the favour of the second point above. Although that is not a bad thing to do, how long can we reward someone for the past performances, beyond a yearly cycle?

In favour of Dhoni

MS Dhoni

What is amazing is Guha singled out Dhoni when one can ask the same question about Pujara and Vijay – two players who only play Tests. Pujara and Vijay deserve those Grade A contracts because of the kind of innings they have played in some of the toughest Tests in the last couple of years. But, neither of them has a chance of getting into the ODI or T20 side.

Ajinkya Rahane is another player, who hasn’t really stood out in the shorter formats of the game. In Test cricket, he has been one of the pillars of the batting order, especially away from home. If three excellent players, can deservedly get a Grade A because of their services to ‘cricket in whites’, why can a cricketer not get a Grade A contract because of his services to ‘cricket in blues’?

Guha probably assumes that Test cricket, as much as we love it, is the only cricket worth rewarding which is ironic when it comes to commercial matters, as the ODI and T20 cricket formats rule the roost!

The answer to that question would lead us to a different question – Is Dhoni as valuable to the ODI and T20 team as Pujara, Rahane and Vijay are to the Indian Test team? While the onset of players like Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson and Dinesh Karthik has fuelled a healthy competition for the wicket-keeper’s spot, Dhoni still has a lot to contribute to the team.

To start with, Dhoni is still a force behind the wickets, street-smart and agile, electric with stumpings and run-outs. Once we take the glove-work out of the way, any opposition in the world would rather see Karthik, Pant or Samson than Dhoni striding in at the fall of a wicket. Most importantly, Dhoni is Kohli’s go-to man when he needs advice for no other cricketer understands pressure, angles and strategies as well as Dhoni does.

Is it unfair to give a senior cricketer a Grade A contract when he doesn’t play Test cricket? Should we consider the fact that the questioned player is India’s third highest run-getter in ODI matches in the last two years, not to mention his wicket-keeping duties and leadership skills? That Dhoni’s presence in the dressing room adds as much value as his presence on the field is an assertion that is not tangible but definitely worth considering.

Against Dhoni

Yuvraj Singh falls under the grade B contract

While a look at the Grade A contracts doesn’t vindicate Guha against Dhoni, the Grade B contracts speak a lot. The Grade B contract comes with a Rs.1 crore retainer. The players currently with a Grade B contract include Rohit Sharma, a T20 and ODI regular like Dhoni, KL Rahul, Indian batting’s next big thing, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Wriddhiman Saha and Yuvraj Singh.

Three other important names in that list are Mohammad Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah. The trio are part of India’s golden crop of fast bowlers. Bumrah is probably amongst the top three death bowlers in the world. Shami is India’s best fast bowler in all three formats of the game and Umesh Yadav is probably India’s most improved player alongside Rahul in the last one year.

Is Dhoni more valuable to the team than Shami or Bumrah? That is a question that could be asked of BCCI, but one wonders if it is the BCCI or the National Selectors and coach who need to answer that.

The cat amongst the pigeons

If ever there was a time when Ravi Shastri’s trademark punchline was apt, this is it. The timing of Guha’s letter is questionable – a few days before the Champions Trophy. It is a tad hypocritical of him to write that email at this time, while complaining himself about Anil Kumble’s contract and India’s superstar culture. While his points are relevant, could he, as a sensible administrator and a well-wisher of Indian cricket, not have waited a few more days?

Indian cricket administration has been in shambles since the honourable Supreme Court has cracked the whip after the malpractices related to the betting world were exposed. There is a player-board war looming with Virat Kohli openly expressing his disappointment with the 2-crore retainer for Grade A contracts, that in itself was a massive hike over the previous amount. Questioning the way those contracts are handed out is not wrong; questioning Dhoni alone – that’s a little out of context!