Dhoni arrives — with India
Mahendra Singh Dhoni has just seen off two icons and is on the threshold of being one himself. As the official, here-to-stay skipper of the Indian team, he looks neither uncomfortable nor out of place in his top slot. His is the most uncontested, beyond intrigue accession to a throne, which many like Sourav Ganguly have lost their form and careers to, many like Sachin Tendulkar have refused to ascend and many like Virendra Sehwag have longingly dreamt of getting on to.
Not so for this Ranchi rocker though. In being the most natural choice for captaincy in all the three forms of the game, 27-year-old Dhoni has shown you how comprehensive a player he is unanimously adjudged to be, how luck is his favourite dame, how the timing is just right for him and how, as SRK said in OSO, all elements have gotten together to give him the crown he is so popularly perceived to be worthy of.
As Ganguly, the skipper who gave Indian cricket its much needed arrogance and killer instinct, said the other day, he sees a lot of himself in Dhoni. A compliment to himself no doubt but Dhoni is, indeed, a man of many hues, a trait that is mandatory for the top echelons of any modern-day discipline, be it in cricket or business management.
Even if one were to dismiss the picture perfect ascendency of MS Dhoni as divine intervention, what with all the three Tests as captain being recorded as handsome victories, two of them against the world’s best team, it cannot be negated that this level-headed wicket-keeper has heralded a gillette smooth transition to the new Indian order. This skipper is the sole heir to an imperialistic empire, his courtiers are all keyed in to their assigned jobs, his governing body is the richest and hence the most clout-oriented in the world, and his fans have yet to see him underperform.
To top this, is his personal portfolio of attributes which reads like a perfect marination recipe. As ruthless as he can be gentle, as much a learner of the game as he is the boss of it, a thinking skipper, a strategy enthusiast, a forceful batter, a safe wicket-keeper, a genuine leader, a team person and a man who has the knack to be as feared by his mates as much as he is respected and loved — not many of our times can own such an impressive cache of assets.
At a time when Team India has just about burst on to its own, it needs a pragmatic head like Dhoni who has the ability and the power to pull the boys away from the opium of success, bring perspective back into their life and give a booster doze of longevity to their careers.
The fact that almost all former greats have retired or are about to do so gives Dhoni the added advantage of being the badshah of all he surveys. Coming in for abrasive criticism on asking for a young forever team for the triangular ODI series in Australia the other season, Dhoni has gone only from success to success to prove that his strident demand was neither exaggerated nor motivated to cut out the seniors from his vertical climb.
In any case, his gentlemanly gesture to hand over the captaincy of the final overs to Ganguly at Nagpur and invite Kumble to lift the Border-Gavaskar Trophy has redeemed his points in public eye and, more importantly, conveyed to the cricket crazy nation that here is a skipper who is neither insecure, nor unfeeling — just that he indulges in his emotions a little less than an ordinary man. That bodes well for Indian cricket, where grounding has always been a casualty that has lent misery to consistency.
The other thing about Dhoni is his amazing physical fitness levels. In the past two years, he has taken a break from cricket only once, that too to rest injury. For a wicket-keeper constantly on a crouch, this is a big achievement. He has flown cross-continent, he has played after gruelling overnight flights, he has switched from Tests to ODIs to 20/20 but has always led from behind the wicket.
At 27, it gives him at least six continuous years to shape Indian cricket, a job he started the other day when he ruthlessly set an 8-1 field at Nagpur to choke the Aussies and then squeeze a win out of them.
The Australian media called him a negative and desperate skipper, the Indian experts wondered from their lofty perches what the man was up to and the stands thought he was a kill joy. But, he stuck to his controversial strategy and came out winner from an intense and engaging session of Test cricket. That’s the Test he has passed.
But, there are many more exams he has to give, the toughest being victories in away series. For a dirt biker, a “Counter Attack” votary, a Lata fan, a hip-hop enthusiast and an unabashed worshipper of victory, that final frontier would be just another gameplan executed with calm professionalism. Hence, you can forgive the man his fast mounting arrogance for such dogged achievers are like iconic artists — they have licence to be licentious as long as they are bringing the trophies home.
Not so for this Ranchi rocker though. In being the most natural choice for captaincy in all the three forms of the game, 27-year-old Dhoni has shown you how comprehensive a player he is unanimously adjudged to be, how luck is his favourite dame, how the timing is just right for him and how, as SRK said in OSO, all elements have gotten together to give him the crown he is so popularly perceived to be worthy of.
As Ganguly, the skipper who gave Indian cricket its much needed arrogance and killer instinct, said the other day, he sees a lot of himself in Dhoni. A compliment to himself no doubt but Dhoni is, indeed, a man of many hues, a trait that is mandatory for the top echelons of any modern-day discipline, be it in cricket or business management.
Even if one were to dismiss the picture perfect ascendency of MS Dhoni as divine intervention, what with all the three Tests as captain being recorded as handsome victories, two of them against the world’s best team, it cannot be negated that this level-headed wicket-keeper has heralded a gillette smooth transition to the new Indian order. This skipper is the sole heir to an imperialistic empire, his courtiers are all keyed in to their assigned jobs, his governing body is the richest and hence the most clout-oriented in the world, and his fans have yet to see him underperform.
To top this, is his personal portfolio of attributes which reads like a perfect marination recipe. As ruthless as he can be gentle, as much a learner of the game as he is the boss of it, a thinking skipper, a strategy enthusiast, a forceful batter, a safe wicket-keeper, a genuine leader, a team person and a man who has the knack to be as feared by his mates as much as he is respected and loved — not many of our times can own such an impressive cache of assets.
At a time when Team India has just about burst on to its own, it needs a pragmatic head like Dhoni who has the ability and the power to pull the boys away from the opium of success, bring perspective back into their life and give a booster doze of longevity to their careers.
The fact that almost all former greats have retired or are about to do so gives Dhoni the added advantage of being the badshah of all he surveys. Coming in for abrasive criticism on asking for a young forever team for the triangular ODI series in Australia the other season, Dhoni has gone only from success to success to prove that his strident demand was neither exaggerated nor motivated to cut out the seniors from his vertical climb.
In any case, his gentlemanly gesture to hand over the captaincy of the final overs to Ganguly at Nagpur and invite Kumble to lift the Border-Gavaskar Trophy has redeemed his points in public eye and, more importantly, conveyed to the cricket crazy nation that here is a skipper who is neither insecure, nor unfeeling — just that he indulges in his emotions a little less than an ordinary man. That bodes well for Indian cricket, where grounding has always been a casualty that has lent misery to consistency.
The other thing about Dhoni is his amazing physical fitness levels. In the past two years, he has taken a break from cricket only once, that too to rest injury. For a wicket-keeper constantly on a crouch, this is a big achievement. He has flown cross-continent, he has played after gruelling overnight flights, he has switched from Tests to ODIs to 20/20 but has always led from behind the wicket.
At 27, it gives him at least six continuous years to shape Indian cricket, a job he started the other day when he ruthlessly set an 8-1 field at Nagpur to choke the Aussies and then squeeze a win out of them.
The Australian media called him a negative and desperate skipper, the Indian experts wondered from their lofty perches what the man was up to and the stands thought he was a kill joy. But, he stuck to his controversial strategy and came out winner from an intense and engaging session of Test cricket. That’s the Test he has passed.
But, there are many more exams he has to give, the toughest being victories in away series. For a dirt biker, a “Counter Attack” votary, a Lata fan, a hip-hop enthusiast and an unabashed worshipper of victory, that final frontier would be just another gameplan executed with calm professionalism. Hence, you can forgive the man his fast mounting arrogance for such dogged achievers are like iconic artists — they have licence to be licentious as long as they are bringing the trophies home.
Published November 12, 2008 ; http://www.dailypioneer.com/133880/Dhoni-arrives-—-with-India.html
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