MS Dhoni – The sun is setting

MS Dhoni – The sun is setting: When a wicket-keeper batsman with long hair made his debut way back in 2004, one would have been hard pressed to predict that he would go down as one of the greatest Indians to ever grace the cricket field. But 11 years down the line, his name will definitely be on the lips of fans and critics alike when someone talks about “Greatest Indian cricketers”. In what can be considered as an eventful career with multiple phases, at 34, it can be concluded that MS Dhoni has finally entered the last phase of his incredible career.

Let’s ponder about Lance Klusener’s views about “All-rounders” about a few days ago. In his opinion, MS Dhoni is one of the best all-rounders in the game in the past few years. A debatable view, one if one considers his contribution towards the team’s cause; The sheer numbers of his achievement, as a captain, batsman and a wicket-keeper, will leave one completely agreeing with Klusener’s views.

Let’s roll back a few years, to July-August 2007. Post a somewhat successful series in England, the inaugural world T20 tournament was going to be held in South Africa. Surprisingly or unsurprisingly, depending upon the point of view, the senior most members of the team refrained from participating. It did raise a few eyebrows, and the fans had literally no expectations from the team going into the tournament.

Led by the-then poster boy of Indian cricket, the young brash MS Dhoni did not seem to be a right choice to many. But at the end of the tournament, he became a house-hold name. Leading a relatively inexperienced team (India had played just a sole T20I before the World Cup), he defied odds and brought back a World Cup trophy to India, finally after 24 years. And he has come a long way after that.

In the years that followed, he underwent drastic changes. Not just as a player, but also as a captain and a leader. Losing his bangs, he moved on from the eccentric, poster boy to Captain cool with a midas touch. And he never stopped anywhere. He went strength to strength, and took the Indian team to it’s golden era. World No 1 ranking in Tests and ODIs, the CB series and the pinnacle of the achievements being the ICC World Cup in 2011, T20 WC 2007 and Champions Trophy 2013.

The highlight of his captaincy was the amount of faith he has in his players. One of the prime examples which stands out is giving the ball to Joginder Sharma in 2007 World Cup and Ishant Sharma the 18th over in 2013 Champions Trophy final. Though many might argue that he had taken a gamble in those situations, he definitely knows what he is doing. And obviously, we know how those decisions were eventually decisive in India’s victory.

And not just as a captain, as a player, he moved from a swashbuckling batsman in the molds of Shahid Afridi to one of the greatest finishers to have graced the shorter formats. His stats speaks for him. With an incredible average of about 80 in Indian victories while chasing, and not to mention an overall average of 50+ in ODIs, is a stuff of legends. And he is no muck with the gloves either. In spite of an unorthodox and frowned upon wicket-keeping technique, he has been a more than decent keeper behind the stumps. Dhoni has executed 625 dismissals in international cricket, which makes him the wicket keeper with the 4^th most number of dismissals across all the formats.

But his path has not always been a bed of roses either. Most often he has faced criticism and backlash from critics and his own fans. His debatable record abroad in the longer formats, in spite of leading a team which was undergoing a transition, has been much criticized. And some of his decisions, especially team selections, have faced some harsh criticism.

And thus MS Dhoni has seen it all. But he has achieved everything his country had asked for. And finally, slowly but steadily, he is all set up for his retirement. After retiring from the longer formats earlier this year, wherein his captaincy was always under question and so was his contribution with the bat, he has not lost his dedication to the team. His tear-jerking speech following a semi-final defeat in the ICC World Cup 2015 is the proof that in spite of achieving literally everything the sport has to give, he still has the hunger to achieve more for the country. And not to forget, he has groomed a promising successor in Virat Kohli over the years, and Dhoni has successfully handed over the baton of captaincy to him in the Tests. And it’s just a matter of time before he hands over the limited overs captaincy too.

While the Indians were breaking records in a competitive tour in Sri Lanka, MS Dhoni was taking a much deserved vacation with the family. But before that, he completed the paratroopers training with the Indian Army. It seems that after years of dedication for the country, Dhoni has finally started to live for himself, and his family. Post a mediocre performance in the IPL, it seemed like Dhoni’s days were finally coming to an end. But yesterday’s knock against ROW in the charity match shows that despite being in the fag end of his career, he still has the drive to keep it going on for some time.

While it is highly unlikely that he would play till the next world-cup, but it will be the upcoming World T20 which he would be eyeing. Considering the fact that he will hand over the captaincy in all the formats to Kohli sooner than later, he would like to go out in a high, by winning the T20 WC again, but this time at home.

While many of them have loved to hate him, for some reason or other, nobody can what he has done for the team. And instead of criticizing him over and over again for what has happened, let’s enjoy MS Dhoni, as he enters the final phase of his career, Indian cricket never had a Dhoni before and who knows when will we find another Ranchi boy with the confidence to back his capabilities and rise to the pinnacles of Indian and international cricket.

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