MS Dhoni

The cool assassin
Diganta Guha
Date: December 23, 2004; Venue: MA Aziz Stadium, Chittagong, Bangladesh; A smart and well-built lad with long hair was making his India debut. By that time he had already made headlines in the domestic circuit, thanks to his aggressive batting and swift movements behind the stumps. However, he didn’t trouble the scorer with the bat and ended up with nothing when his turn as a wicket-keeper came. Fast forward to February, 2009 — the Mahi wave has taken international cricket by storm. The long locks are gone. The blazing starts in the middle have made way for a much more composed beginning. But the hype over him is getting stronger and stronger with time. That’s Mahendra Singh Dhoni for you. Captain cool has arrived and he is ready for the challenge. When we are looking at Indians who have made an impact in the last 25 years, Dhoni does stand tall in the list. So, how has Dhoni’s entry changed Indian cricket?
An achiever
There are two categories under which we should assess the rise of this Ranchi guy at the highest level of the game — a) as a cricketer and b) as a skipper. If we are to look at the first, what Dhoni has given is solidity behind the stumps. After the exit of Nayan Mongia, our selectors tried several stumpers like Ajay Ratra, Vijay Dahiya, Deep Dasgupta, Parthiv Patel, Dinesh Karthik and even Rahul Dravid, but none lived up to the expectations and it was only Dhoni’s presence that gave a relief to the selectors. And it is just not about his wicket- keeping skills, he is somebody who has all the potentials of becoming a great batsman. So good is he with the bat that he can walk into any international squad just on the basis of his batting alone — averages of 36.14 in Tests and 48.28 in ODIs say it all. Being the number one batsman in ODIs is a testimony to his dominance over bowlers.
As a captain, Dhoni has several firsts to his credit — winning the inaugural T20 World Cup, leading the country to the IDEA Cup triumph against Sri Lanka (the first time India won a bilateral ODI series in the islands), winning a tri-series in Australia (the CB series) and more importantly, he is the man behind India’s maximum nine consecutive ODI victories (five against England at home and four against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka). Since his taking charge of the coveted captain’s job, Indian cricket has only been on the rise. In Test matches too, Dhoni has been successful as a leader — winning the Border-Gavaskar Trophy beating Australia and getting the better of England have made cricket observers across the world take notice of Indian Team’s performances with more than the usual interest. And let us not forget that Dhoni’s men went past Australia briefly to take the second spot in the ICC team rankings for one-day internationals. Beyond doubt, Dhoni is on a roll. But success has not fallen into his lap. It’s the result of his hard work, unflinching commitment, unflappable temperament, and above all, his intense urge to brave all odds.
Reading between the lines
What is the mark of a great leader? There’s a famous adage: “A good leader inspires people to have confidence in the leader, a great leader inspires people to have confidence in themselves.” Dhoni has shown remarkable progress as a captain. It is evident from the way he goes about things on the field. In one sense, a line of comparison can be drawn between Dhoni and Sourav Ganguly both of whom have the common trait of leading from the front and setting themselves as examples before their teammates. If Ganguly taught us to win abroad, the man who made his international debut under him has taken it forward. However, there is a marked difference between the two — Ganguly’s passion was always visible on the field, while Dhoni shows little emotion and carries out his plans with aplomb. He wouldn’t do a la Ganguly by taking off his shirt to celebrate his team’s triumph, but would let his boys take the spotlight. And this is the difference in styles of the two great captains.
Dhoni takes decisions and sticks to them. When he dropped the likes of Ganguly and Rahul Dravid from the one-day side, he incurred many people’s wrath. His Young Brigade theme didn’t find too many takers. But, he was convinced. One striking aspect of his leadership is that he makes his players believe in themselves and the result is there for all to see. If the rise of Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan is attributed to Ganguly, Dhoni has been instrumental in giving confidence to Gautam Gambhir, Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar, Yusuf Pathan and others. Eyebrows were raised when he was appointed skipper of the India T20 side despite the presence of seniors like Yuvraj and Sehwag but Dhoni showed his mettle and got the best out them. Sehwag, who had been passing through a bad patch, got back his form in the T20 World Cup. According to veteran sports journalist Vijay Lokapally, “Dhoni has made a big difference simply because he knows the ground realities. He knows the importance of backing a player from personal experience. And he also has the ability to observe and learn and importantly manage to implement. He is fortunate to have had players like Sehwag and Gambhir in such sensational form, a bowler like Zaheer Khan finding touch at the right time and seniors like Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid still wanting to contribute not just by way of runs but priceless inputs.” Says former National selector Sambaran Banerjee, “He has the courage to take challenging decisions.” In fact under Dhoni’s leadership the Indian cricket team can no longer be considered as a team of chokers. They can finish it off. And this throws light on Dhoni as a master tactician. Giving the last over in the T20 World Cup finals to Joginder Sharma was one of the many brave calls he has made during his stint as the Indian captain and one shouldn’t forget the fact that he let Yusuf Pathan open the innings in the T20 World Cup final against Pakistan. Mind you Pathan had not played a single match for India before. “I believe in giving more than 100% on the field and I don’t really worry about the result if there’s great commitment on the field. That’s victory for me,” remarked Dhoni in an interview to Cricinfo. And commitment he has got aplenty from his boys. Lokapally adds, “Dhoni gains by being honest when it comes to dealing with the players and the situation. He is driven by an instinct and also the fact that he has a coach like Gary Kirsten who is so well versed with modern cricket.”
As a player, he has only matured with time. In former Indian wicket-keeper Syed Saba Karim’s opinion, “The hunger for big ones is evident. There was a time when he used to be content with 30s and 40s, but that has made way for a zeal to strive for more.” Indeed as a batsman he has shown tremendous maturity in all versions of the game. The ability to change with time has done him and his team a world of good. No wicket-keeper has been more successful as a batsman in the history of Indian cricket than Dhoni and if we are to compare him with anybody in the world, it has to be former Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist. Yes, people do tend to overlook Dhoni’s wicket-keeping ability because of his deeds with the bat. But as Karim points out, “Yes he may have had some weaknesses behind the stumps but he has worked hard on them. No way does he let his batting affect his wicket-keeping.” His 170 scalps in 130 ODIs and 98 in 35 Tests are a proof of his consistency as a wicket-keeper. Staying till the end and seeing his team through is Dhoni’s mantra and it is for no reason that his Chennai Super Kings teammate in the Indian Premier League, Muttiah Muralitharan holds him in high esteem when it comes to hanging on till the end.
A role model
A role model is not one who is only known by his achievements. It has got a lot to do with how he carries himself as a celebrity. Voted as the MTV Youth Icon of the Year (2006) is just one of the recognitions that Dhoni has got. Unlike his Team India teammate, Yuvraj Singh, Dhoni hasn’t let his off- the-field image affect his cricket. He is not seen to be overly influenced by crazy female fans, as he knows his priorities well.
With success come link-ups and rumours, but the Indian captain has handled these with grace. And this is exactly why Dhoni is such a hit with advertisers having endorsed a number of brands like Reebok, Pepsi, Big Bazaar, Dabur and others. His simplicity and boy-next-door image have given advertisers a new face to capitalise on. And thanks to his image he can draw both the classes and masses. Industry reports say that he charges more than Rs 4 crore per brand, surpassing even Tendulkar. Adman Piyush Pandey explains, “His personality that exudes confidence but not arrogance has endeared him to advertisers. He is like Fevicol. Ratan Tata doesn’t use it, but he likes it. A villager would love it. So, like Fevicol, there is a universal appeal in Dhoni.” His gestures both on and off the field are exemplary. One of his noteworthy gestures was letting Ganguly take over captaincy towards the end of the latter’s last Test match at Nagpur last year. It has bridged the gap between the two (created after Ganguly found himself out of Dhoni’s scheme of things in the ODI format). A true role model, no doubt!
A profile on Dhoni would run into pages. And this is where the true success of the man lies, keeping in mind the fact that he has not been around for long. No doubt Indian cricket is in the right hands as experts from Sunil Gavaskar to Ajit Wadekar are of the view. And, needless to say, he eminently qualifies as one of those who have made a difference to the country in the last 25 years. At the same time, his job is not yet over. As Lokapally points out, “His test shall come overseas, especially in Test matches. I think it is good to have a cricketer like Dhoni at the helm because he does not play for a place in the team. He is sure of himself and ensures security for the team.”
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