Captain MS Dhoni and his five undroppables

MS Dhoni – captain could have chosen a better crew

As an Indian, the last two months have been utterly disappointing. More disappointing than depressing because things on various fronts promised so much only for them to be steamrolled down at an alarming periodicity. A new ruling party in the heart of our capital showed everything that can be right with a democracy; a month later it also showed why everything cannot always be right with a democracy.

Similarly, at the start of the English summer, a new look Indian team showed its true mettle. Burgeoning with self confidence and epitomising a quintessential 21st century ‘I will not take a step back’ (read compulsive hookers – just the ‘shot’) Indian mentality, they blasted their oppositions with alarming ease and even more alarming tactics – giving Ishant Sharma the 18th over in a 20 over match – on their course to a Champions Trophy success. 7 months later, the very same team has somewhere lost its tenacity and its desire to outperform themselves.

To top the gloominess off, we now have one of our prime-ministerial candidates giving an interview on national television with a maturity level last associated with a turkey. These are terrible times for India, indeed. Living in a time where interviews from leaders don’t make sense anymore, you would expect the relief to come from the sporting field. But being the smart thinker that he is and his ability to play according to the situation, MS Dhoni dropped a mental dung-bomb, with the expertise and the ease of a typical marketing executive, when he said that he won’t change his current team selection because they (MSD and BCCI) have ‘invested heavily’ on them.

Now, of course, MS Dhoni doesn’t say anything relatively new when it comes to conferences, but you have to admit this was an all-new low. In the press conference, amidst his volleys of ‘well, of course’ and ‘let’s admit, our batsmen can’t play short balls’, he did admit that India had crossed the point where they can drop their players (Rahul G-esque moment for him).

So, as I pondered over that statement, I thought maybe I could list down five players whom Dhoni would never drop; players who would be the only constant amongst all the changes in the world, and more importantly, the players he believes he has invested heavily on. Here we go.