I wrote this around a month back...my perception about Dhoni has changed a bit since...In a cricket crazy nation, where cricketers become superstars overnight, his remarkable show of respect to 2 great stalwarts of Indian cricket, Dada n Kumble, in their farewell swansong , deserves a special mention....gestures such as these could only have come from a man who has his heart in the right place...so please don't read much into the last line of this post for i've kind of changed my mind about it... still..i'll not edit that line because i feel you'll be able to appreciate what i said only when you've read it!! So here we go........
MSD or better still Mahi, is now a household name. The boy from Ranchi has roared up the popularity charts like none other and is now the heir apparent to the throne of Indian cricket, i.e., the test captaincy. Dhoni started out as an unabashed clobberer of the cricket ball and his aggression combined with his long locks elicited gasps of admiration from one and all including General Musharraf himself. Certainly not a purist’s delight, Dhoni nevertheless carried on with his unconventional ‘lathmaar’ approach to batting and soon became the cynosure of every Indian cricket fan’s eyes. But then we Indians have always had a tendency to support the underdog....
Then came the big leap. The Wall, the battle hardened Dravid stepped down from the captaincy. The Nawab of Nazafgarh, Sehwag, by then, had lost favour with both his teammates and the selectors. Dhoni was seen as the one big hope by all and sundry. A good cricketing brain (not necessarily the most conventional one) coupled with the camaraderie he shared with his teammates made him the automatic choice over the brash prince charming of Indian cricket Yuvraj Singh....
And MSD slipped into Dravid’s shoes with aplomb winning the T20 world cup in style, which incidentally was his first assignment as the Indian captain. He led a young side that completely tore apart the opposition exceeding all expectations. Dhoni was still going great guns. But a slight change in his batting approach was evident. He was no longer his uncomplicated self with the willow, no longer the dreaded marauder, but a quite grafter of runs who could explode when the situation demanded....
India’s winning ways continued under Dhoni but the captain himself was a lot more subdued now. Newer match-winners emerged in Gambhir and Raina. The older gladiators resurfaced with the master blaster Sachin having a sensational resurgence. Yuvraj continued with his consistent ways that justified his billing as one of the most efficient finishers in the shortened format of the game. Dhoni, atleast for the time being, has taken a backseat. His die-hard fans might attribute this change to the maturity he has attained as a cricketer and the huge responsibility on his shoulders. But, if you are an avid cricket follower, it doesn’t take too much of grey matter to figure out that Dhoni is indeed struggling a bit. Grafting runs and hardly able to execute his trademark heaves now, maybe bowlers have sort of worked him out....
To the honest viewer,atleast to me.... India is winning matches because of pure team brilliance( someone or the other puts his hand up to do the rescue act every other match) rather than Dhoni’s individual brilliance or his extraordinary captaincy. But, the Dhoni phenomenon refuses to lie down quietly. A Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award adds to aura surrounding Dhoni. Though, what perplexes many is how Dhoni got the country’s highest sporting honour ahead of stalwarts such as Dravid, Ganguly or for that matter Kumble. Meanwhile, Brand Dhoni is scaling new highs. And the cricketer in Dhoni made everyone sit up and take notice when he was picked up as the most expensive player at the IPL cricket auction...
Speculations were rife, could Dhoni justify his billing as the most powerful hitter of the cricket ball. Could this street smart captain outsmart, outthink and outmanoeuvre other much more illustrious names when he locked horns with them in the battle for city supremacy. Could this soccer like format which had already made heads turn with the kind of investment it generated, bring out the best in this small town boy...
.... And Dhoni did kick up a frenzy when he led his team into the finals of the IPL only to be thwarted by Warnie and his band of merry men..
Now, he has sterner tests ahead of him, more hurdles wait in his path. In the wake of the ongoing Aussie tour of India, the dilemma of Seniors vs. Juniors has resurfaced. One of the much fabled FAB- 4 has already fallen prey with Dada having announced his retirement. Can Dhoni put aside all the bickering and steamroll the all-conquering Kangaroos on home turf. Or, will it ultimately boil down to the fact that Mahendra Singh Dhoni is just another very lucky guy who thinks he can toy with his senior Indian pros just because the planets favour him!!
