MS Dhoni's retirement is a nightmare dressed like a daydream

According to a folk tale, the name of Ranchi is derived from a local bird named "Rici," which was mostly found in the Pahari Mandir (local temple) premise. Rici is the name for the Black Kite bird in the Mundari language. The modern-day landmark of Ranchi, the Pahari Mandir, is also known as Rici Buru - the hill of the kites. Though the Black Kite birds are known to hunt and scavenge, we will use the term "scavenge" to describe Mahendra Singh Dhoni in his dearest mode.

Scavenge could also refer to removing combustion products from an internal combustion engine cylinder on the return stroke of the piston. That’s how Dhoni set the record straight for the critics, as he cruised on his twin-cylindered “Reed Valve” air-cooled 347 cc engine Yamaha RD 350, decked in a leather jacket, mane flowing backward and his sharp aristocratic nose piercing through the crowded Upper Bazaar post getting selected in the Indian Team back in 2004.

After almost playing competitive cricket for 20 years now, the man could be seen practising, sporting the same old blonde bleached long hairdo, muscles now beefed up, the tanned forearms disappearing - thanks to his ability to freely splurge on personal care, sporting his childhood friend Paramjit Singh’s tiny sports shop sticker on his bat – his way of saying thank you very much to the fans and his friend who got him the first sponsorship wearing his sandals out. 

Ranchi was a humble abode in the late 2000s, wasn’t it? For a man on whom a biopic would be made in 2016, the city served him with limited single-screened theatres growing up. The one who would own 78 bikes, later on, had cycle rickshaws whenever he passed through the Albert Ekka square. The airport which would get the Bollywood paparazzi to set foot in Ranchi hadn't had a single flight since independence until Vayudoot came into existence in 1981.

Post leading India to a T20 World Cup, a 50-over World Cup, and a Champions Trophy within a span of six years after taking the captaincy baton and making the presenters stick the Chennai Super Kings gold-plated sticker five times on the aesthetically pleasing IPL trophy, the emperor could potentially say 'it was nice meeting you' this IPL 2024 before obscuring into ‘Vara’ – a fort he has built for himself before riding off into the sunset.

They say ‘The robbed that smiles, steals something from the thief,’ that’s what Dhoni did in the face of loss. That’s what he would expect his fans to possess when the D-day comes and circumstances demand. ‘Main Pal Do Pal Ka Shayar Hoon,’ a Mukesh song he is very fond of, could well be running on all the televisions when the time comes. You don’t have to look at your wristwatches, do you? Maybe a 24-hour clock timing can’t suffice the time to register it’s done, this time around. Maybe he was what everyone wants to be on the field, a ‘Donato.’