NEW DELHI: Former captain
MS Dhoni,
Indian cricket’s truest soldier of the new millennium, chose the nation’s Independence Day to announce a typically cryptic ‘retirement’ from international cricket.
True to form, there were no independent corroborations, and no clarity on whether Dhoni, at 39 years of age, had retired from all forms of the game or just international cricket. The Insta post, ironically, came on the day Dhoni put bat to ball after a long time, on the first day of Chennai Super King’s camp at the Chepauk in Chennai.
Eyewitnesses at the camp said Dhoni appeared rusty but not alarmingly so, and “did okay”. The decision came as a bolt from the blue even to his CSK teammates, and Dhoni didn’t break the news to them, they all saw it on Instagram. When some of them asked him about it, he reportedly said, “Just felt like it.”
If he plays in the
Indian Premier League (IPL) in the UAE from Sept 19, as indications suggest, the spotlight will firmly be on Dhoni and CSK’s campaign throughout. Media attention is something Dhoni studiously avoided throughout his career, and he is no stranger to sudden retirement announcements either.
International debut
In Melbourne in late December 2014, he pulled a rabbit out of the hat by announcing his Test retirement moments after his unbeaten 24 had played an important role in India drawing the game.
At that time, the announcement had come through an email from the Indian cricket board, mere minutes after Dhoni had regaled a few members of the media with some relaxed, witty banter during a long, rambling press conference. Of course, he absolutely didn’t mention anything about his decision!
It was typically Dhoni. He disliked the constant scrutiny that came with stardom. He liked to play his cards close to his chest, as can be expected of someone who broke a glass ceiling in Indian cricket by making it big from the cricketing backwater of Jharkhand. To his credit, though, he never seemed the unlikely cricket hero, even though he started his working life as a railway ticket inspector.
A shrewd cricketing brain, canny leadership skills in the shorter formats, an effective wicketkeeping technique, a sledgehammer of a bat and unwavering fortitude in pressure situations all marked his destined rise to the top.
As
Sourav Ganguly said on Saturday, it all seemed like “natural brilliance” but immense hours of hard work went into enabling Dhoni to stride like a colossus on the limited-overs stage.
It was 13 years ago, in September 2007, that the young, long-haired Ranchi boy shyly shook hands with the press corps in
Johannesburg
as the new captain of India, at the start of a new tournament, the World T20.
India’s batting stalwarts like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly had all given the tournament a miss. They would not have realized they were, in a way, abdicating the throne. Dhoni became Indian cricket’s biggest star as India won the tournament beating Pakistan in the final, and T20 became the new rage.
That tournament, and India’s win, reset the framework of international cricket, and Dhoni was at the centre of that grid. The 2011 World Cup win in India marked the acme of Dhoni’s achievements as leader and finisher, and that winning six is etched in India’s collective consciousness. Having become the biggest superstar in Indian cricket since the heady days of Sachin Tendulkar, Dhoni became the face of calm on the cricket field and a recluse off it. He retreated into his Ranchi haven with his bikes and dogs to escape the constant travelling circus, of which he was the chief engine driver.
Now, Indian cricket has years to discuss the secrets of Dhoni’s longevity and the impeccable legacy he leaves behind. He redefined the concept of the Indian limitedovers match-winner, averaging 100-plus in successful run chases and 69 when India won. He became the only Indian captain to win all three ICC trophies. He also took India to the top of the Test rankings. The numbers, while numerous, do not define Dhoni’s aura. At his peak, he was relentless in his quest for victory and strong-shouldered both as batsman and leader.
It’s not a perfect world, though. His powers inevitably declined, first gradually and then, at times, alarmingly so, and that throw from Martin Guptill in the World Cup semifinal will forever cruelly mark the full stop to the Dhoni era. It had begun with a run out too, back on his
ODI
debut in 2004 in Chittagong, making things come full circle. Thank you, MSD, for carrying the burden for us, so splendidly and for so long. You’re finally free.