Different format,different skipper: Dhoni prefers to wait and watch

Ahead of the one-off T20,the issue of player fatigue has been a prominent subject of debate.

Ahead of the one-off T20,the issue of player fatigue has been a prominent subject of debate. England,by design or circumstance,have come up with a partial solution to the issue by appointing different captains for the three formats of the game. T20 skipper Stuart Broad said that this ensured adequate rest for all players,with neither he,Test captain Andrew Strauss nor ODI skipper Alastair Cook needing to play all the time.

Were the only team that play all year round so to ask one captain to do three jobs is unrealistic. It means playing every day of the year which the human body does not really allow. Having three captains means different ideas to different formats. Its worked so far,theres been no teething problems and its developing in the future, Broad said.

A look at the respective workloads of MS Dhoni and Andrew Strauss would suggest that India might want to look into having multiple captains at some point in the future. Since January 2010,India have played 48 international matches,or 104 days of cricket if we assume,for the sake of simplicity,that all their 14 Tests consumed five days. Of those 104 days,Dhoni was involved in 88. Strauss,in the same period,was involved in 74 of Englands 98 days of cricket,sitting out all 11 of their T20 internationals.

Dhonis participation in the IPL and Champions League,tournaments Strauss wasnt involved in,added a further 35 days of T20 cricket to Dhonis schedule over that period.

The Indian skipper agreed that having more captains would allow them more rest,but wasnt certain that it would prove beneficial to the team in the long run.

No time to think: MS

It is difficult for me to answer because I hardly get time to think about anything but cricket, he said. Time will tell whether it is a good thing or not. Of course,you have to see whether all the captains play all three formats or not. But yes it will give a bit of rest to them.

The toll taken on Dhonis body by a packed calendar might have also impacted his glovework former England keeper Paul Nixon had earlier stated that sore fingers was the reason behind Dhonis sub-par displays behind the stumps on the England tour.

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Dhoni hinted that his fingers werent in the best shape,but said that his troubles had more to do with the way the Duke ball wobbles after passing the bat,in cloudy English conditions.

If many of the ten fingers are injured,then it becomes difficult,especially in these English conditions, he said. Its also bowler-specific. I have had more problems with Ishant Sharma than with Sreesanth and Praveen Kumar. Once you come here a few injuries happen. Nothing to worry about.

But he did suggest that implementing a rotation policy would benefit all the players,particularly those involved in all three formats.

I think we will have to consider a rotation policy. The schedule looks cramped and it is important to give players rest, Dhoni said. It is more to deal with the mental aspect and of course a bit of good rest helps you keep injuries away,which might otherwise happen if you keep on playing.