Team India Caught in Cross-fire of MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli's Contrasting Philosophies

The series loss to Bangladesh is hurtful. India came off a fantastic World Cup campaign and would have loved to end their season with a series win against their neighbours. Hence, they sent a full strength squad for both the Test and the ODIs. (Complete Coverage of India's Tour of Bangladesh)

The team looked full strength on paper but the players were waning off after a tough English summer and a combative tour Down Under. The World Cup saw the Indian players go into the overdrive and empty their tanks. They played the Indian Premier League on fumes and in the Bangladesh tour, they simply ran out of steam. (Dhoni and the Number Four Conundrum)

Just before the Bangladesh tour, BCCI too saw heads roll. The Board got a makeover and also, adopted a new philosophy -- 'aggression' is the operative word for Indian cricket and it seems more attuned to fit the new Test skipper, Virat Kohli.

While Kohli might have taken over the mantle in the Tests, MS Dhoni is still in charge of the two shorter formats and that seemed to have created a state of confusion in the Indian dressing room.

"Credit to them for the way they played but where we lacked in the first two games was not being able to express ourselves with clarity of mind," said Kohli in a pre-match interview on Sunday.

Every captain has a shelf-life and Dhoni is approaching the end of his. He may have realised the limitations of his leadership in Tests but in the shorter format, he still has a lot to offer. However, Dhoni himself has started to feel the anti-incumbent forces working against him. (Dhoni is Tense, Dressing Room Atmosphere is Worrying Him: Coach)

"If I am the reason for all the bad that is happening to Indian cricket, definitely I would love to step away and play as a player," said an emotional Dhoni after India lost the series against Bangladesh.

Kohli, after taking on the Test captaincy, expressed his desire to impose his 'fiery' brand of cricket upon the team. He also showed his aggressive ways during the one-off Test match by picking five bowlers. Kohli kept medium-pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar on the sidelines and went into the Test match with two genuine quicks -- Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron.

Dhoni, after the third ODI, has now raised questions on India's fascination with quick bowlers.

"We need to make a decision if we want quick bowlers or if we want good bowlers even if they are not quick. We have been backing too many quick bowlers who haven't been bowling well", said the Indian captain.

Is India struggling to adjust between Kohli's and Dhoni's ways?

© AFP

While Kohli left Cheteswar Pujara out of the Test XI, Dhoni asked Ajinkya Rahane to warm the benches in the last two ODIs. If Kohli prefers the off-spin of Harbhajan Singh, Dhoni trusts the left-arm orthodox of Ravindra Jadeja.

Before the start of the Bangladesh tour, the broadcasters started a twitter campaign and asked for views on #CaptainFearless. The social media exploded and a few of the Indian players went on record to say how the 'aggressive intent' of Kohli rubs on to the entire side.

Dhoni, too, found his loyalists after the series loss. While Suresh Raina sung accolades about the man from Ranchi, Ravichandran Ashwin labeled Dhoni as a 'great' and was ready to die for him.

The former players and the experts too have got some skin in the game.

Mohinder Amarnath has openly backed Kohli and slammed Dhoni for his 'defensive' ways. Bishan Singh Bedi thinks 'Captain Cool' needs to invest time in yoga.

A few other have a different perspective.

Sourav Ganguly has backed Dhoni and asked the supporters to show respect towards a captain who's got a glittering record. Sunil Gavaskar, too, has thrown his support behind India's keeper-captain and said that only Dhoni should decide about his future.   

Mud-slinging and pointing fingers are two of India's favourite pastimes and the loss to Bangladesh has just added fuel to that fire.

Although, both Dhoni, Kohli and their teammates have denied any 'rifts' in the dressing room, the indecision amongst the men in blue is clear as day.

Dhoni and Kohli -- two strong characters with starkly different beliefs. Team India seems to have been caught in a cross-fire of contrasting philosophies!