Mahendra Singh Dhoni- The Last Of His Kind
All great journeys must come to an end. This might sound like a cliche line, but this statement best symbolizes the impermanence of life. And, when a journey as special and intimate as the one we are talking about draws to a close, it is going to take a part of us with it.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been an extremely special cricketer as he is someone who has lived a fairy tale on the cricket field. He has shown us that you need not be the most gifted to be the most successful in life.
While even the most technically gifted batsmen would have flicked a yorker past mid-wicket for a boundary, Dhoni used his powerful wrists and showed us that it could be clobbered over long-on for a six. While cricketing experts rave about the importance of playing ‘textbook’ cricket, Dhoni defied the laws and played the game his way, and exhibited that he cannot just survive but thrive for a decade and a half.
And, as we all know, while experts would have told him to go with a lead spinner (you know who it is), he had other ideas, that won us the 2007 T20 World Cup.
And, after the debating about the numbers, after the full throttle analysis of a player’s career, what will remain are the memories. And, the kind that Dhoni has given the cricketing world will linger in the minds of fans forever.
It was 2004 but it almost seems like yesterday, that a young 23-year old wicket-keeper, with his signature long mane, came out briskly and smashed a brutal 148 against Pakistan that left them in a daze.
In 2007, Indian cricket unearthed a new leader, when Dhoni, 26 at that time, led India to the inaugural World T20 title. It was like a luminous glow of light at the end of the dark tunnel.
This heralded the arrival of the most glorious chapter in Indian cricket as a boy from the town of Ranchi, went on to lead his country to every possible accolade that a captain could dream of. The CB Series in 2008, the No.1 ranking in Tests, and the biggest of them; The 2011 World Cup all came under his leadership.
No Indian fan can forget that night when Dhoni smashed that six off Nuwan Kulasekara, and a sea of humanity at the Wankhede stadium, erupted in unbridled joy, as Dhoni gave India its greatest Sporting moment ever.
Then, came that whirlwind 224 in that Chennai Test. Nathan Lyon was torn to shreds as Dhoni launched a savage assault that left the Australians dumbfounded. The ICC Champions Trophy in 2013 came as well, almost as if it had to, for that was the only major ICC Title, Dhoni had not conquered yet.
And then, in early 2017, something happened that shook the Indian fans. One January morning, Dhoni casually came and told that he was stepping down as the Captain of the Indian team. Perhaps it took too much out of him, perhaps he had gone tired explaining the team combinations to the media, perhaps he wanted to just contribute as a player, and allow Virat Kohli to get into the job ahead of the 2019 World cup.
None of us expected it, but then, Dhoni always had ‘other ideas’.
And, all this only lengthened the mask around him. You see, that’s the most beautiful part of the Dhoni phenomenon. The more you saw him, the more inaccessible he seemed to get. Not even Dhoni’s staunchest worshipper can predict his next move.
But then, as is the case with even the greatest of Sportsmen, the ravages of father time spares no one. Sachin Tendulkar looked like just another player in the last two years of his otherwise glorious career, Don Bradman got out for a duck in his last test innings, Laxman’s dexterous flick started finding the hands of mid-wicket instead of rollicking to the boundary, Ponting’s pull shot slowly started deserting him and bowlers started breaching Dravid’s defense.
Time truly waits for no one.
And, Dhoni too, is no different, as he is towards the end of his career. The oddball was hurrying him up, the lofted shot was finding the hands of Long On, the feet were not moving as swiftly as they were, but Dhoni is striving to keep the dying light aglow.
And, that is exactly where we stand, at the threshold of one of the greatest Sporting journeys in the last quarter of a century. Dhoni is now 37, and certainly in the twilight of his unmatched career. The 2019 World Cup will most likely be his( you can never say anything for sure with Dhoni) last hurrah, after which he will walk into the sunset, bringing down the curtains on his illustrious career.
And when he retires, all of us can be sure of that no cricketer could have played the game the way he did and Mahendra Singh Dhoni is certainly the last of his kind.