Dhoni that I know
What is that first moment that flashes back in memory when you think of Dhoni? For most possibly would be his unforgettable long on slog finalizing the 2011 world cup final victory. A shot engraved in collective Indian memory not so much for the merit of it as for the occasion and the moment it unleashed itself.
But for someone like me with a thing for one to one stars' rivalry, I can not in no shred of indecision but choose that one helicopter he flexed off Malinga in 2011 IPL quarterfinals against Mumbai Indians if I am not wrong on the exact year. Both of the cricketing giants were on the peak of their careers and Dhoni almost invariably had better of Malinga in the time. Yes, the same Malinga whose unorthodox action, lightening pace with impeccable precision of Yorkers were still a mystery for batters, or were they ever not? In the inning of a half-century with a strike rate of about two-fifty, he altered the course of the game in a way unrecoverable for MI, also later on winning the trophy.
Dhoni, to a teenager cricket fanatic me, was a last-five-over player who would launch a flurry of boundaries and even the premier bowler of the opponent would be hapless. There was a period in his career when he could amass over fifteen runs in final overs no matter the bower or quality of bowling. He would be unstoppable in his application of hard muscle.
Dhoni was never a man of aesthetics; the brute force was characteristic of his play. I mean, who would come two steps down the pitch just to push the ball in defence for no run? But his brutish style was a metaphor for how he shaped his fortune in the resource-scarce region he came from, with modest economic availability. Imagine a talented young man of Ranchi dreaming of playing for India in 2000, let alone be national captain. His fortune is guiding many aspiring chaps to take cricket more than just as a hobby, to sharpen skills in an increasing number of reasonably good training facilities. Dhoni didn’t nurture himself in this environment; His struggle was much crueller.
How should one react to this unpredictable retirement of a man whose name for many is synonymous with Indian cricket? whose cricket and leadership fundamentally changed how we perceive the game: remember IPL-a financial boon to the world cricket-would have lacked the lustre and glamour that it gained if it wasn’t for the irresistible appeal of Dhoni in its nascent stage. But it wasn’t a one-way relationship. ‘Dhoni made IPL, and IPL branded Dhoni’ would be a way to put it.
It’s time to come into terms with his departure from fitness and physical coordination that he enjoyed in the best of his days. His keeping prowess apart, his performance with the bat has been un-Dhoni-like in last two years. In the world cup we lost, we got sight of some hints of that. And Dhoni, after all, knows better if he indeed is capable of delivering for his country, the country where thousands like him are sweating all day for that one place in the squad.
Dhoni himself remarked in one of the presentation ceremonies where he was called upon that he didn’t care about his achievements and applause; all he yearned for was a victory for his team. Sixes for him were six runs; length didn’t please him even a little, as the exhibition wasn’t one of those things that dictated how he played.
Anyone with this sense of judgment and selfless priorities is a gift to the nation. And if that anyone has brought home three ICC trophies, well…
Understatement of the century would be to state the number seven blue jersey would be missed in the Indian dressing room.
Oh..wait, having been in Ranchi for more than a decade now and spending two years in the school where he received most of his education, I wish to tell my personal story with him.
Sorry, I don’t have one.