Mahendra Singh Dhoni was banned from the final Test match in Adelaide in the 4 Test series against Australia due to a slow over rate during the 3^rd Test.

In the 362 minutes of play, only 76 overs were bowled, and despite the time to be added on for things like wickets and unexpected stoppages, India were still found wanting. Dhoni pleaded guilty at the hearing, and in doing so also surrendered 40% of his match fee, with every other player being fined half of that at 20%.

This was the second time Dhoni had committed the offence, with India also failing to bowl their allotted overs during a Test match in the West Indies. In his absence, Wriddihman Saha will take the gloves and fill Dhoni’s number 7 slot in the batting order, and Virender Sehwag will take over the captaincy duty.

This latest embarrassment summed up the debacle that has been India’s tour, with India suffering three crushing defeats in the 3 Tests, with very few of India’s players being able to say they are blameless. Dhoni has also struggled with the bat, as he has only passed 50 once during the tour, and with his team suffering so badly as a whole, a lot of fingers will be pointing at Dhoni.

The Indian teams slump in the last 10 months has been quite spectacular, as after the joy and pride of their World Cup victory, what has followed has been fairly embarrassing, with their overseas form being a cause for concern in particular. The World Cup victory and how India had briefly reached the number one ranking in the world for Test matches, so it would be unwise to think Dhoni isn’t the best man to guide this Indian team during this transitional period.

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