5 Career choices MS Dhoni can opt for post-retirement

As the clock struck 7:59 on Independence day (15th August), Mahendra Singh Dhoni announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket. The entire cricketing fraternity was left flabbergasted as MS Dhoni, who last represented India on July 2019, announced his abrupt retirement from international cricket. It has been a week since Dhoni took the decision, but the cricket fans, as well as experts, are still decoding the message which Dhoni posted on his official Instagram account to break the news to his fans.

The most famous theory revolves over the timing of the post. Last year, India faced New Zealand in the semi-final of the World Cup which was MS Dhoni’s last game in the blue jersey of India. As soon as the Kiwis (who eventually lost to England in the finals) defeated India, former New Zealand cricketer Grant Elliot posted a tweet at exactly 7:59 PM in India, congratulating his countrymen for making it to the finals. The other possible hypothesis is related to the Angel number 1929 and the sunset time on August 15 in the westernmost part of India.

Former Indian cricketer Suresh Raina, who also joined Dhoni into retirement, shared an interesting detail about why the CSK duo decided to hang up their boots together on the same day. As India completed 73 years of Independence on Saturday, Dhoni (jersey No. 7) and Raina (jersey no. 3) had already planned in advance to retire on the same day. Raina confirmed to Dainik Jagran that the two cricketers had already planned to retire together on August 15.

A sportsman’s career always lasts for about 10-20 years, unless your name is Sachin Tendulkar of course. A lot of cricketers have opted for alternate careers after calling it a day in cricket. While players like Gautam Gambhir and Mohammad Azharuddin have gone into politics, some players like Rahul Dravid and Ravi Shastri have decided to serve the sport by taking up coaching roles. The options for a talented person like Dhoni are vast.

Let us take a look at 5 career choices MS Dhoni can opt for after his retirement:

1. Coaching

Coaching is the first option that springs to your mind when you think of a post-retirement career alternative for a cricketer. A lot of players like Jacques Kallis, Ricky Ponting and Mahela Jayawardene have turned into coaches after retiring from international cricket. Just like the players mentioned, MS Dhoni also possesses a sharp cricketing brain and has great leadership qualities, which seem to be the ingredients of a good coach.

MS Dhoni would probably distance himself from cricket and all the attention around the sport in our country once he finally hangs up his boots after the IPL because that’s just how he has been all his life. On the other hand, knowing MS Dhoni’s supreme passion for cricket, one could still expect him to give back to the game. He could take up a player-mentor role at Chennai Super Kings before taking his expertise to the international scene with India.

It is very unlikely to see him in the commentary box or as a cricket expert for a broadcaster because Dhoni has always been someone who doesn’t like to put himself in the limelight. With that being said, one can still hope for him to pass on his cricketing brain to the future stars of Indian cricket. The younger generations deserve to learn from the most successful captain in Indian cricket history.

2. Artist

This might come as a bit of a shock to many cricket fans, but MS Dhoni has always been interested in painting. Around 15 months ago, in May 2019, MS Dhoni revealed his love for artistry. Dhoni was one of the most innovative cricketers of his generation which is proven by his no-look run-outs and fancy helicopter shots.

This creativity of Mahi is not limited to the field as the Ranchi-born wicketkeeper-batsman likes to paint whenever he has free time on his hands. Moreover, he can also contribute to designing apparel and merchandise for fans. He already has his own brand– Seven.

Dhoni might take up painting as a profession after announcing his retirement. In a video posted on 20th May, 2019 on social media, Dhoni can be seen portraying his painting credentials while displaying a few of his artwork. “I wanted to share a secret with all of you. Right from childhood I always wanted to become an artist, I have played a lot of cricket so I decided it’s time for me now to take up what I wanted so I have made a few paintings,” Dhoni said in the video. However, it eventually turned out to be a brand advertisement.

The former India captain then went on to show three of his creations. The first one was a landscape drawing; the second one was of what he described as ‘something which can become a mode of transport in future’. He described the last one as his favourite. It was what Dhoni described as a replica of him batting in the CSK jersey. He also mentioned that he will be having an exhibition for his artwork in the near future.

3. Armed Forces

Just like his love for the game, former Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has an enduring association with the Indian Armed Forces. The captain of two World Cup-winning teams is an honorary lieutenant colonel with the Indian Territorial Army and a qualified paratrooper as well. In 2015, four years after he was awarded the honorary rank in the Indian Territorial Army, he became a qualified paratrooper after completing five parachute training jumps from Indian Army aircraft in the Agra training camp.

Dhoni currently holds the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army. Following the 2019 World Cup semifinal loss, he trained with the Parachute Regiment for more than a month. Arun Pandey, a close friend and business partner of MS Dhoni has also confirmed of Dhoni’s interests when it comes to joining the armed forces. He also claimed that Captain Cool’s brand value will not take a hit if Dhoni decides to join the armed forces.

“Since August 15 is a special day for the Army, he must have thought on those lines. The T20 World Cup postponement was surely a factor as he planned for it,” Arun Pandey said.

“One thing is for sure, he will be spending more time with the Army. He will also give time to his commercial ventures and other commitments. We will sit down soon and decide the way forward.” In most cases, the brand value of an athlete goes down after retirement but Pandey insists it won’t happen to Dhoni.

4. Politics

There are widespread speculations since a few years that MS Dhoni will be entering politics following his retirement. Following India’s defeat in the semi-finals of the 2019 ICC World Cup, there have been rumours about Dhoni starting a new inning by joining Bhartiya Janta Party. Because of his two traits of patriotism and intelligence, it is likely that the 39-year-old MS Dhoni could fit perfectly into the role of a politician that the nation both needs as well as deserves.

Although there is sign from MS Dhoni’s side regarding his future but BJP’s working president JP Nadda has spoken about the situation by saying that everybody is welcome into the party fold. “The president was in contact with everyone at that time. But our party is inclusive – artists, sportspersons, they all are an important part of the country. All are welcome,” Nadda told reporters when he was asked about Dhoni joining the party.

In 2018, BJP President Amit Shah reached out to Dhoni during his ‘Sampark for Samarthan’ campaign to generate awareness about the NDA government’s achievements. Recently, PM Narendra Modi congratulated MS Dhoni on his achievements after he announced his retirements which could also be an indirect invitation for a political stint. A lot of cricketers like Sanath Jayasuriya, Navjot Singh Sidhu and Vinod Kambli have entered politics after retiring from cricket.

5. Farming

MS Dhoni was training with Chennai Super Kings earlier this year, but had to return back to his family from the training camp in Chennai after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to postpone the kick-off of the 2020 Indian Premier League (IPL) until further notice amid COVID-19 scare. ‘Mahi’ since then has been spending time at his Ranchi home with daughter Ziva and wife Sakshi and his affection for organic farming has started during the lockdown.

In an old video posted by the World Cup-winning captain on his Facebook account from his sabbatical days, he had said that he was learning organic farming of watermelon in Ranchi followed by papaya in 20 days. Dhoni took to his official Facebook account to post the video of the same, which he captioned as: “Start of organic farming of watermelon in Ranchi followed by papaya in 20 days time. first time so very excited”.

In a recent video posted by a fan page, MS Dhoni was seen driving a tractor and ploughing the field in his farmhouse. As seen in earlier videos, it seems like Dhoni has been learning organic farming to make most of his time away from the cricketing field. While farming is a very unlikely career option for Dhoni post-retirement, it could definitely be something Thala does during his free time as he loves nature.