A Tribute to the True Man of Steel
The year of 2020 has been very cruel to all homo sapiens. As we are coping with the horrors of Australian Bush fire, a potential World war 3, the oil war between Russia and Saudi Arabia, COVID-19 and its lockdown effect, unfortunate demise of celebrities such as Kobe Bryant and Sushant Singh Rajput, locust attacks and racism-induced deaths like that of George Floyd, I thought that I had seen it all. What more could possibly go wrong from here? Then an atomic bomb dropped, not once but twice, in consecutive days (you know what I mean). Me, being an ardent Barcelona fan, saw the complete demolition of my team in quarter finals of UEFA Champions League. Within 24 hours, I now witness another horrific piece of news about Dhoni announcing his retirement, followed by Raina, the ultimate team player.
It is not like he wasn’t expected to retire after ICC World cup 2019 debacle for India, it was more of the way he silently left international cricket not once but twice — his retirement from tests in 2014 being another incident. It is still disheartening for a boy who grew looking up to him as an inspiration. Whenever there was a chance, I always wish to see his innings - let it be a single digit or a triple digit score. The way he carried himself and his teams over his decade-and-a-half career is remarkable. He has faced ups and downs, like all others, but he has made sure that he wasn’t affected by all the bustling noises of the outside world, unlike others.
Many became his fans after he led India to triumph in the ICC world Cup 2007. However I was his fan prior to that victory. I was a fan when he terrorized the opponents with his aggressive batting, when he tore apart Pakistan bowling with 148* in Vizag, when he smashed Sri Lanka at Jaipur in 2005, when he instilled fear on to Pakistan in their home ground while chasing, when he played so fearless to become the world’s number one ODI batsman in just 42 innings (post 1970s when ODI cricket was too young and a string of 3–4 consistent fifties got batsmen to the top of the chart).
Then came along the disaster moment of India losing in group stages in ICC ODI world cup 2007. It was a hard pill to swallow. The Fab Five and Dhoni were completely destructed. Then came along a chance to save the pride — Inaugural World cup T20. All young guns of India made us proud by turning the wounded blues to a formidable force of Men in Blue. It was a wonderful childhood of sorts to see all the Indian players at their peak of their powers. But one man lead them all and everywhere. 2007- 2011 was the golden period of Indian cricket winning most of the events on its way — bilaterals, tournaments like CB series in Australia and of course, the ICC ODI World Cup 2011. Dhoni finished it off with style to lift the trophy with Yuvraj Singh making a top notch performance in that tournament. IPL was introduced and CSK, led by dhoni, was the most consistent team in the League. He was truly the man with the midas touch.
Just when I thought what could possibly go wrong from there, then came the England tour of June 2011. Veterans looked aged (barring Rahul Dravid), batting was way below the mark, bowling was in shambles. The future for India started looking bleak from there on. The Fab Five started dismantling with retirements and the team was allegedly caught in an internal dispute. Dhoni couldn’t finish games, he struggled in series away from home. Yet he kept confidence on youngsters like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Dhoni was pivotal for turning India into the great fielding side we are today, by infusing youngsters early into the side.
Perhaps, I personally felt that ICC Champions trophy was one of the most under-rated achievements in his career. Coming off a defeat in the IPL final and two gruelling years of cricket with no significant success, Dhoni found himself in a spot of bother when he had to see his name making the rounds in the infamous IPL spot-fixing scandal. It called for an insane level of mental toughness from a man who was known for it. Yet again he responded by leading his team to a triumph.
One lead to another and he started to see his midas touch fade away. Back to back defeats in knock out matches of ICC tournaments with his age catching up with him, Dhoni finally stepped down from captaincy in ODI but not before retiring from the Test format. RPS did not show him any kindness either, especially the owner. Yet he showed his credibility for his position by batting with responsibility. With final nail in the coffin during ICC 2019 WC, it was only logical that he had to force himself out for the youngsters to take his place. In the end, this man has taught us not just cricket but life lessons as well— he taught us how to lead, be calm, trust your gut instincts, outsmart the opponents, handle oneself during criticism and above all — accept both success and failure with next to nil level of emotion.
You may not see his place in the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) argument. Yet he has achieved something that no other cricketer has achieved in this 120+ odd years of cricket — captaining & winning all 3 ICC tournaments. It may seem odd for many that he hadn’t contributed much during those tournaments yet he seems to be common point in all those 3 triumph. But the fact is, my friend, It always required someone of immense calibre to lead a team even when one is not performing because not everybody can have the command or confidence to lead during one’s bad times. You always need a Lion King to lead a team and Dhoni is always the king of lions, one who was never affected by success or failure around him.
“Pride is holding your head up when everyone around you has theirs bowed. Courage is what makes you do it.”
Wish I would see someone like you in the future even though those chances seem bleak.
Hope you have a great IPL 2020 by showing us the long-haired Mahi of yesteryears one more time. Farewell Champ ;) #Thank_you_for_everything.
