Just like his last ball sixes, Captain Dhoni times his farewell to perfection
In the wheel of existence, the fortunes of joy invariably follow the path of despair. Sudden showers of fame often lead the way to critical judgements and comments. The journey onwards, towards the summit, is often never devoid of coarse boulders. For a sportsperson, who tirelessly pumps in countless hours of toil towards his nation, this dawn of success tends to venture into the horizon of doubtful questions soon after.
With upcoming talent and a loss in one’s own ability, critics and sports fanatics draw and force the player towards the end of his long flourishing career, by constant comparisons and mentions of inevitable debacles.
The Bjorn Borg era was scrupulously ended by the rise of Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi, who were further, very finely, replaced by none other than Roger Federer himself. A decade later, the Djokovic’s and Murray’s have long surpassed Federer’s momentum, with rising talks for the great of the game to call it quits.
However, it is the world of Indian cricket that remains an incomparably ridiculous affair. As the sport transcended into a religion for the mortals in this nation, each day has managed to throw up its own Divine Power and its own Satan. Taking the adage “from hero to zero” and vice versa quite literally, the Indian cricket fans remain caught up in their chamber of unprecedented praises, which are soon forgotten in the maze of harsh hooliganisms.
The story of Captain Dhoni: the Midas Man to Captain-no-more-Cool
One cricketer who has constantly remained in the public eye for every move of his has been Mahendra Singh Dhoni. From his witty remarks to his charismatic calm, Dhoni forayed into the world of captaincy, only to conquer each trophy and each record with dominating élan.
From surprisingly clinching the inaugural 2007 T20 World Cup with a team of youngsters to leading India to the numero uno position in Test cricket for the first time ever, Dhoni’s sustained efforts ushered in a new legacy, which was defined by sustained hard work and grooming of the youngsters.
The 2011 World Cup at home further reinforced his dominating streak which radically affected Dhoni’s reverence and legacy amidst the cricketing circle; being seen as one of the best players that had donned the role of captain in his sport. Mahi, the man with the Midas touch. The one who could never do any wrong.
As is the norm in a cruel world, the abysmal performances were just lurking around the corner. By the next edition of the World Cup in Australia, Dhoni’s majestic magic had perforated with inconsistent performances and defensive tactics, which made him give up Test cricket for good.
Also read: 5 incredible statistics about MS Dhoni's captaincy
Although the Champions Trophy came India’s way in 2013, the passage remained strewn with Test debacles and ODI bilateral series losses in South Africa and New Zealand. The very same “fans” who swooned over the long-haired Dhoni remained critical of his dwindling command over consistent victories.
His deteriorating display as a finisher sparked debates over the effect of captaincy in Dhoni’s personal style of play. The semi-final exit in the World Cup in 2015 was the sole grace for India in the limited formats that year, with India dishing out below par performances in the Tri-Series that preceded the World Cup in Australia, coupled with series losses to South Africa and Bangladesh.
While Virat Kohli’s Test team made news for their aggressive victories, the ODI squad remained vastly overshadowed. The historical T20 sweep in Australia preceded the T20 World Cup at home, winning which would have been the perfect parting gift for the 35-year-old.
As destiny would have it, the tournament is remembered for an average Indian team riding on Kohli’s brilliance, Hardik Pandya’s debatable last over gamble and Dhoni’s adamant saga with a journalist, publicly humiliating him for confronting the skipper on his views on retirement.
Why this was the right time for Dhoni to walk away from captaincy
Let us face the question straight up. Even though the 35-year-old is the most successful captain in India, ten years at the helm remains a tedious job. Rahul Dravid, while resigning from captaincy in 2007, stated that each captain is born with a shelf life, which should be respected and complied with.
Dhoni’s captaincy in the last few seasons seemed to bear a passive look, wherein the bowlers were ruthlessly and repeatedly attacked for their death over antics. When the pitch and the conditions started getting blamed for a loss, one, somewhere, became aware of his frustrated angst at excuse-making. His treatment of Irfan Pathan gave rise to the rumours of favouritism in the Indian Premier League; rumours which a captain should never be embroiled in.
As Dhoni supporters remain cocooned in their old world charm of his majestic aura, defending his right to stay on as the captain, a young Kohli was stamping his authority with gold. Riding on an extended purple patch, with both bat and as a marshal, the Delhiite’s rising streak in the IPL converted the hushed whispers into solid reasons for his ascendance as captain in all the formats, especially before the 2017 Champions Trophy in England.
Also read: An open letter to MS Dhoni after stepping down as ODI and T20I captain
With the World Cup in 2019 being staged in England and Wales, the same venue as the Champions Trophy, Kohli stands the opportunity to assess the conditions during the mini-World Cup and plan his way forward by bringing in the desired youngsters and overhauling the set-up of the squad, which Dhoni managed to achieve with aplomb when he took over the reins.
With the World Cup just twenty-four months after the conclusion of the Champions Trophy, it clearly would have remained illogical for Dhoni to have captained in that tournament, assuming he had no intentions to carry on as leader till the next edition of the World Cup, where he would have been 38.
While Misbah-ul-Haq continues to rule the charts as the leader of Pakistan at 42 years of age, hoping that Dhoni would have done the same, when he had already shown signs of fatigue, reaps of childish fan worship. What if he had not been able to? What if he decided in 2018 that he could not bear the responsibility anymore and gave up captaincy just months away from the 2019 Trophy? Wouldn’t that have been too harsh on Kohli?
The sole reason why the emphasis is on Kohli getting adequate exposure before the World Cup is that Dhoni himself had stated before the 2011 World Cup that a new captain needed at least 50 ODI matches at the top before the quadrennial event.
Looking ahead at the FTP (Future Tours Programme) for India, the country is expected to play 55 ODI matches, excluding the Champions Trophy and the Asia Cup, touring England and South Africa, which would provide Kohli’s team with the much-needed confidence.
Also read: MSK Prasad admits MS Dhoni showed perfect timing with his decision to give up captaincy
While Dhoni the captain effortlessly continued to groom Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina, Dhoni the batsman suffered a major decline. With experts literally pleading the right-hander to bat up the order, where he could be at his destructive best, the selfless captain thought it better to remain rooted at his number 6 position, focusing on instilling his young brigade with some experience.
However, what the Indian fan witnessed in the last few years was just collective sighs at the Jharkhand-born keeper’s inability to finish off games with brutality. His helicopter shots were replaced by defensive shot making and despite a healthy average, he always seemed to falter in the games where he was supposed to lead us home.
‘Supposed’, because the ardent cricket lover was just accustomed to the last ball six. The victory from the jaws of defeat. Dhoni the batsman who defied and defined cricket-watching on the television.
The move to step down as captain, will, hopefully, auger well for Indian cricket as the right-hander might be constantly seen higher up the order. Not only will that pave the way for the re-emergence of the destructive Dhoni, it will also enable the grooming of a new finisher, who will benefit immensely from the 35-year0old’s invaluable expertise and knowledge.
As the captain nonchalantly bade farewell after an intense video game session with his Jharkhand team-mates, let us take a moment to applaud his timing once again and respect him for the contributions, as an illustrious captain and a renowned leader.