Let's leave MS Dhoni alone

As the BCCI and the IPL successfully grab media attention, the Indian team has flown off to England for the Champions Trophy. At a recent press conference, Dhoni was bombarded with questions regarding the fixing saga. He kept, or perhaps was forced to keep, quiet. However, Dhoni shouldn’t be chastized for that.

Yes, the matter pertains to CSK, a team captained by Dhoni. Yes, Dhoni is the appointed Vice-President of a company headed by N Srinivasan, which is at the centre of the storm. But the players appear to be mere pawns in a scam involving enthusiastic mongrels chasing power. As much as I find myself contradicting myself, Dhoni deserves no heat.

Even the foreign media questioned him about the IPL, once he landed in England. Why? What was the need? He replied saying he would answer when the time is right. He agreed some players are mentally weaker but also said he couldn’t elaborate at the time. He has been quite stoic, and rightly so.

Never has MS Dhoni been a man to mince words. He is shrewd and has been forthright at most press conferences. The matter at hand is of a sensitive nature. Let him have this moment of political correctness without any doubts arising. Perhaps he doesn’t know what’s going on or maybe he does. Either way, he deserves the right to keep this one secret, especially since he now leads the Indian team in a mini World Cup. The lead up to the first game cannot be one which is perturbed by allegations hurled at him, not when Dhoni and the Indian team headed to England signify hope. Hope which every fan craves right now, a hope that not all the bananas have been peeled. Not every bat bears the sticker of an owner. Not every ball swings the way someone else commands. Not every fielder dives head first because he’s told to. Not every tomato is rotten. It remains a hope that no matter how deep the grave, light will always be seen, that cricket will always remain.

Rob Thoma,s in a song titled ‘Fire on the Mountain’ asks, ‘How do you sleep when there’s a fire burning?’

You find a distraction. You tell yourself it hasn’t spread everywhere and you find a place that seems to be untouched by the blaze. It only transmits the warmth, the good part of the fire.

In many ways, this last edition of the Champions Trophy has become, for many fans, a chance to escape. A chance to believe again. It is not the tournament we deserve, but the one we need right now….Yes, I saw Dark Knight too.