The Enigma called Dhoni

" Men like Adam Gilchrist (96.95), Viv Richards (90.20) and Kapil Dev (95.07) have better strike-rates than Dhoni. A few like Sachin Tendulkar (18,176), Sanath Jayasuriya (13,430) and Ricky Ponting (13,695) would always remain out of his reach by way of runs. But it’s difficult to think if these legends could have donned as many hats as Dhoni does – a batsman, keeper, captain and a finisher – and done as well over a period of time. He also hardly misses a game." - TIMES OF INDIA

The indecipherable enigma that has been at the helm of India Cricket for more than 9 memorable years has called it a day on captaincy on January 4, 2017. Ever since he made the announcement, there has been an emotional outpouring whenever the "Captain Cool" takes the field. Be it Ranchi, Chepauk or even the iconic Wankhede, there is no dearth of MSD fanatics. MS Dhoni, the most decorated captain in the history of world cricket, will not be seen leading the men in blue to a cricket field anymore. The man who has won all the trophies to be won and has led the Indian Cricket Team to the summit in all formats of the game from now on, will just be a wicket keeper batsman. Dhoni’s trophy cabinet is quite envious. Even people who are gifted enough to play alongside him could not fathom such success at world tournaments. He is the only skipper in the history of the game to win all ICC (International Cricket Council) trophies.

But its not just the trophies or the statistics that set the man apart (though his stats are astonishing) from the rest; Its the tranquility, the street smartness,the sublimity that makes him special. Dhoni flaunts a rare display of calmness as if to make it clear that everything is under his control. Seldom have we seen him loose his cool, rarer is a display of emotion. And in a team sport like cricket, Dhoni was not someone who looked for individual glory. He could have made No.4 his permanent position, he could have sent someone else to do the finisher's role, he could've sat back and watched as others won him the game and piled up runs and centuries. But he chose not to. He sacrificed his numbers for his team's.

"He (Dhoni) has got this ability of rising from the ashes. It is his temperament where he has treated those two imposters — fame and failure — in just the same manner." - Sunil Gavaskar

This quote from Sunil Gavaskar when describing the 2013 ICC Champions trophy triumph sums up the cricketer Dhoni. He has an astonishing ability to remain in the present. 

MS Dhoni is a mathematician, he always reduces the situation, no matter how complex or simple, to a problem he has already solved.

Etched in Memory forever: The 2011 world cup winning shot.

But is the Sun setting too soon?

Wasn't it a few years back when he first heard about a bloke from Ranchi with long locks decimating the famed Pakistani bowling attack in Vizag? A knock of such supreme substance and ferocious stroke play that made even the Nawab of Najafgarh (a.k.a Virender Sehwag) look like a test match player. Was it not recently that we heard the news of the same boy taking India to their first ever world cup title win in two decades in South Africa?

But swift fly the years! It’s all gone in a haste. The last-ball sixes to take the team home, the witty press conferences,  talk about “processes”. And suddenly  we’ve reached the final lap and we find it a hard truth to digest. The sun is setting on the MS Dhoni era even before we realised that it had passed. As Mahi enters the wrong side of 30s, it is only fitting that we celebrate the greatest cricketer the country has produced, barring the great Sachin Tendulkar. 

Dhoni is no doubt the most popular cricketer in the world today. Commentators do not waste an opportunity to appreciate his talent. Looking back, it doesn't seem the man himself will give much thought to the fact. He never was someone who hogged the limelight. Even after winning the world cup for his country, after playing the innings of a lifetime, the man moved aside for Sachin Tendulkar to take the centre stage. MS Dhoni has this amazing quality to detach himself from the attention. The man is impassive.

However, the fact remains that Dhoni is the most marketed player in the modern era of cricket when new age digital marketing took hold of the game. Indian Premiere League and Dhoni is inseperable as he is her biggest brand and the biggest beneficiary. The brand MSD even outshone the brand Sachin. A reputed consulting firm published a paper titled "The Dhoni Effect" to showcase the growing potential of small town centers. India's ace tennis player Sania Mirza has once told the reporters asking about the lack of popularity of tennis among Indians that tennis needs someone from a small town like Dhoni came for cricket. Perhaps there will never be another small town boy who will go on to dominate the world cricket the way he has.

The stupendous career of the great man can be summed up: He came, He saw, He conquered.

P.S: Excerpts taken from google, Quora and newspaper articles.
The views expressed are that of the author.
Source of images, if any: Google

Author: Praveen Cherian Jacob
Email- praveencherianjacob@gmail.com