The MSD conundrum...
...and a conversation with the irrepressible Danny Morrison
I thought that MS Dhoni coming in to bat after the game was won and lost, hitting a couple of pointless sixes, and being cheered to the rafters by Chennai’s “knowledgeable crowd”, was the most bizarre thing I had seen or heard in all my years of following cricket. And then I found this on Cricinfo:
Firstly, I don’t get the “knee thing” — MSD is capable of keeping wickets for the duration of a T20 game, squatting and straightening for 120 legitimate deliveries, running up to the stumps, contorting himself to receive throws from the outfield — but not capable of batting for extended periods? How does that work?
More to the point, a coach is saying that his team’s star player will decide, on a day to day basis, just how much effort he will put in for the team’s cause?
Sure, I get the brand value thing — but just how short-sighted is it, that CSK is putting its entire brand-value eggs in the basket of a player past not only his playing prime, but also his physical prime? What happens when the inevitable happens, and MSD has to quit?
In the latest episode of Sport and Pastime, Faisal Sharif and I discuss the MSD conundrum, with some insights on how teams calculate brand value. And, bonus, we bring in maverick cricketer and commentator Danny Morrison for a chat — on New Zealand’s cricket resurgence, the IPL, and much more. Here:
As always, feedback both welcome and actively solicited.