One Among Us, Not Quite

Quiet Saturday evening of a National Holiday. A two-line captioned video clip makes its way onto the social media, and within minutes stirs up a concoction of emotions across the country of over a billion people. Everything about the post – audio, video, caption, timing, has some logic. The full stop had arrived and delivered by the man himself, in his own revered manner. We did not hear Mahendra Singh Dhoni speak but like always the mind took centre stage over emotions on a public platform.

The emotions never really came to the fore, did they? We did not see much expression when he was run out for nought in the debut match, or when India crashed out of the 2007 World Cup. There was no animated reaction when 0-8 along with a home series loss to England threatened to cut short Dhoni’s captaincy nor when his run out in the 2019 World Cup virtually marked the conclusion of India’s campaign. The emotions did show up on occasions, especially when he was not out in the middle – press conference question about his retirement and more recently walking out on the field in an IPL match when he wasn’t happy with the umpire’s decision. In such rare instances, Dhoni reminded us that he was just like us who could get angry or be strongly unhappy with something.

Everything about Dhoni’s game (batting and wicket keeping technique) was always unorthodox. He did not come from a state having high visibility on the national circuit. Cricket was not the first choice as a child. His chances at the national level did not come easily. His debut international series was a string of failures. There are many parallels for most of us with imperfect skills and struggles in personal life and professional career, which makes Dhoni’s early career story very relatable. However, that is where the comparisons to an ordinary story end. What followed over the next decade and half is the narration of a fabled script. The achievements shine brightly in an illustrious career, both as a player and captain, and some peaks might stand the test of time!

Yet when you look back, every aspect of the architecture appears as a systematic addition of small bricks rather than an assembly of big boulders that are meant to be great. Quite often you would hear Dhoni speak about ticking off the ‘doable’ things, as not all days go to plan. His execution tallied with what he said and believed – always on the lookout for converting 1s to 2s or 2s to 3s, was happy if the team executed what was planned even if the result went the other way, was a big advocate for good fielding efforts, wanted his team to qualify the semi-finals of tournaments, and maintained that team-building was a process for a greater goal. This approach invariably kept him and the team in the hunt throughout the contest, irrespective of the format. Unintentionally, this thought process presented the cricket world with a template to chase in white-ball cricket and Dhoni demonstrated its successful implementation over a period and across conditions. In effect, by taking upon himself to perform the toughest task he invariably commanded respect as the leader of the pack.

They say cricket is played more in the mind, and there could not be any better illustration than MS Dhoni to advocate this thought. Yes, he always had brute power and incredible physical stamina, but they seemed to be add-ons to an engine driven elsewhere. His demeanour of being in control felt like a product of immense self-belief and complete awareness of his strengths and weaknesses and that of his opponent. His approach of simplifying complex situations reflected in the manner he managed his personnel on the field and on the drawing board.

Great batsmen look for gaps between fielders rather than fielding positions, great bowlers look for gaps between the bat and the pad, and great captains look for gaps in the opposition’s plans and strengths. Dhoni’s career, both as wicketkeeper-batsman and skipper later, exemplifies the ability to identify and convert opportunities. Just before Dhoni made his debut, Rahul Dravid was India’s makeshift wicketkeeper in ODIs, to accommodate an extra batsman. Not many wicketkeepers before had made an impression with bat. Akin to his repute in the domestic circuit, the first phase in international cricket was all about Dhoni’s swashbuckling batting; an opportunity converted and sealed. The debut series as India’s skipper in the World T20 was another chance which was unequivocally conquered. We also had a glimpse of this skill in smaller segments, when he would pass on instructions to the bowlers/fielders whenever he stood upto the stumps. Dhoni’s big contribution to Indian cricket apart from his records and operational strategies, is a big shift in terms of temperamental outlook and the ability to soak in and deliver in high pressure situations.

History might rate Dhoni’s captaincy as his biggest legacy, those who have seen him play will fondly remember his cool demeanour, lightning fast glovework, witty comments and the Helicopter shot. A person’s contribution to a field is adjudged by how much his presence has impacted from the time he starts to the time he ends. In Dhoni’s case, when he began somebody like a Gilchrist was the benchmark for his skills and as he hangs his blue jersey the bar is raised a notch higher. He led several legends of Indian cricket for a period and seamlessly passed the crown of thorns to another superstar, Virat Kohli. Yet you would hear each one of them speak about Dhoni with high regard and admiration. At the end of all big tournaments which India won under Dhoni, you could see him pass on the trophy, stand in the corner, and let others hog the limelight. The Dhoni story was always meant to be special and unparalleled, yet it has something for every one of us to learn, emulate or replicate in our own way. Thank you, Mahi!