Interpreting Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s monumental, majestic, magnificent and marvellous character, passion and pride for the sport of Indian cricket surely calls for a recap. Dhoni has always displayed a great devotion, dedication and commitment to his spirit of turning into an ambitious and acknowledged sporting star with a great degree of patience, calm, quiet and temperament shaping up his humble start.
A tactical, clever and a smart reader of the game, he had the distinction of quickly drawing upon the skills and strategies for turning the fate of the game by boosting the courage and morale of his teammates. He’d encourage them to be adaptive to the demand of the situation and circumstance by counting on their strengths.
I, vividly remember the 2007 T20 finals between arch-rivals India and Pakistan and how he almost made up mind to give the last over to Joginder Sharma inviting him to bowl to Misbah who was looking pretty much in command. But, the trick by Dhoni surely unsettled the plans of Misbah and his teammates as Sreesanth abruptly spoiled their party by taking the catch. And then, a sudden rush of electrifying enthusiasm and energy swept the supporters and well-wishers of the Indian team.
Later, during the 2011 ICC World Cup finals in Mumbai, Dhoni rightly reminded us of this act again by promoting himself up the order as he was well familiar with the Sri Lankan bowling attack. Though Yuvraj Singh partnered with him rotating the strike, the six by Dhoni did approve our authority over the cap after a period of twenty-eight years when India got its maiden world cup under the captaincy of Kapil Dev in 1983 against West Indies.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, by his clear and clever understanding of the game, has extraordinarily articulated and broadcasted his intent, always training his resources for bettering his performances and presentations, be it under any capacity. Batting saw him developing a fondness for a helicopter shot and exciting impressions along with quick running between the wickets and a bullet-like stumping action.
Dhoni literally stood as a distinctive all-rounder attempting to learn from the experiences of his roles undertaken in the past never losing his cool irrespective of the outcome reflected. Even during failures, Dhoni has used that time to introspect and be honest about your strength and weaknesses as a player and captain.
Despite scoring plenty of records, he has always been filled with humility, somethig that many who adored and admired him remember him by. I remember once General Parvez Musharraf of Pakistan commented on his long flowing hairs in the year 2004 as the Indian Cricket team toured Pakistan. Dhoni simply smiled taking it as a compliment as his long hairs added to the cult of his personality emulated by his fans and followers.
His achievements offered a clarity to the selectors and helped them repose their faith on the squad.
Although Dhoni has retired from International Cricket but the legend will continue to remind us of his gesture and glory to the sport of Cricket in the best of his self. I wish we had the luxurty to watch him play more but we are definitely going to miss it.
Appreciations and luck for your future endeavours, Captain.
Continue to mentor and motivate the generations wanting to achieve their feat, Dhoni.