MS Dhoni: The small town boy who became an inspiration

One can associate many words with Mahendra Singh Dhoni. 'Cool', 'calm', 'tough', 'confident', 'match-winner' and so on. But the word that is most appropriate to describe the man would be ‘unconventional’. He was a man who did not play by the rulebook. Whether as a leader, batsman or wicket-keeper, he went about it in his own way. And MSD had made it quite apparent fairly early in his career when he gave Joginder Sharma the last over in the famous World T-20 final against Pakistan. His cricket was, mostly, accompanied by uncertainty and surprise.

Therefore, the manner in which he hang up his boots in Test cricket was in perfect consonance with the way he played his game. He addressed a 15-minute-presser after  the third Test where he discussed the game with a smile on his face and a few minutes later, the BCCI press release dropped a bombshell.

To be honest, the Indian Test team was yearning for change in leadership. MSD remains one of the all time great leaders in limited overs cricket, the format he intends to pursue, but he could not replicate his Midas touch in the longer version of the game. Experts had been calling his captaincy unimaginative for a while and in the first Test, Virat Kohli showed the spark that is needed to inspire change.

But let us leave scrutiny for another day. At this moment, it is important to recognize what MSD means for Indian cricket and India as a society. From the milk-drinking, longhaired robust boy to the mature, calm and grey bearded guiding force behind the enthusiastic young guns: the journey instills nothing but inspiration and optimism.

There was a time in Indian cricket when eight of the eleven players representing the country belonged to Mumbai. Playing for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy was considered a step just before the international berth. It was considered the hub of quality cricketers and Mumbai, not without reason, bullied other domestic teams. 

In the 90s and early 2000s, players from Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad started making their mark but, with an odd exception, the Indian team consisted players reared in cities. Maybe because of the advanced infrastructure and facilities, and constant focus of selectors, the city kids had a relatively comfortable ride when juxtaposed with aspirational small-town boys living in obscurity.

Ranchi was no different when MSD dreamt of donning the India cap. The economy of the city revolved around one road, called Main Road, where shops are a family business, much like politics in India is for some political parties. Hailing from a small-town like Ranchi, MSD scaled his peaks through sheer hard work, guts and, more importantly, sans any Godfather. His career is a perfect recipe for a Bollywood film, without the director’s liberty (I know a biopic on him is coming up).

In 2007, at the age of 26, MSD inherited ODI captaincy from Rahul Dravid. In 2008, he assumed as Test Captain when Anil Kumble retired. And make no mistake, in the last six-seven years, he was the boss in Indian Cricket. He led a team, which had stalwarts like Sachin Tendulkar, Dravid, Saurav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and so on. All those players were already superstars when MSD made his international debut. But leading them, he never seemed overawed by the situation. In spite of the legends around him, it was him who called the shots.

Even though MSD would not go down as one of the greatest Test captains because of his moderate record outside Asia, his departure would certainly leave a void. He personified the art of staying calm in duress, hardly allowing the emotions to come to the fore. Much like Bjon Borg played his Tennis. MSD gave ‘cool as a cucumber’ a new meaning.

India will really miss his calming effect in pressure cooker situations, not just as a leader but as a batsman as well, for he has played some decisive knocks for India coming down the order. When the top order was struggling to put bat on ball in England, MSD grafted a few gritty half centuries with his unconventional batting technique.

Nonetheless, the Test team that MSD leaves behind has players like Umesh Yadav, Mohammad Shami, Varun Aaron, Karn Sharma. The ODI team has even more such players with modest background. This transition of Indian Cricket has been fascinating. But the number of players in the periphery of Indian Team coming from humble background in small-towns after MSD’s arrival has drastically swollen. That stat juxtaposed with the number of such players before his arrival would manifest his importance in what we call ‘social integration’.

Teams like Jammu & Kashmir and Rajasthan are doing well in Ranji Trophy and the IPL throws up new stars every year. Youngsters outside cities have started to dare to dream. They have an example in front of their eyes. They have an inspiration. Records will come and go. But MSD represents something that goes beyond numbers. And that is hope.