MS Dhoni - The man whose silence made the noise

Isn’t birthday a great occasion for introspection? If it isn’t yours, then perhaps retrospection. And if it is of a legend, it is time to reminisce about their legacy, stand, and pay a tribute. Memories galore as you come across the name- Mahendra Singh Dhoni. A man much more than just a sportsperson. Dhoni is an emotion. To describe his enormous legacy in words is as difficult as it is daunting. Even though his story is, there’s not much that is flamboyant about Dhoni.

A billion achievements notwithstanding, he has kept his feet grounded. Success can overwhelm you at times and fame could change your attitude in a way or two, but not if you’re Dhoni. His tale from rags-to-riches, from nowhere to the pinnacle, and from a valiant believer to a global behemoth might be told easily, but behind the steep rise is immense toil and utterly honest hard work.

From a long-haired bludgeoner to a suave finisher, from a Ranchi-wunderkind to a cricketing-phenomena, he has come a long way down the road of glory.

Early Days

One could say that Dhoni’s luck, much like his heritage, is unmatchable. But nothing came to him easy. Dhoni wasn’t a chosen wonder out of a swath in India, but one who defied odds and believed that he can. And what followed was the rise of a young-blood from a hinterland of India.

Born in a middle-class family in Ranchi, Jharkhand, he made a hustle in the town with his cricketing skills ever since he entered teenage. Jharkhand- largely a tribal and mineral-rich state- was far from opulence and this meant that grabbing spotlight was not easy.

But where there’s a will, there’s a way. From joining Railways Ranji side to being selected for an A tour to Kenya, he kept at it and scripted his story from a railway ticket-collector to becoming the charioteer of a billion hearts.

The breakthrough

His toil paid off when he secured a berth in the national team in 2004. Dhoni started rather ominously as he scored a duck in his first ODI, but this was too small an occurrence for someone with the kind of belief he had. Mahi took the world by storm when he smothered 148 in his fifth ODI against arch-rivals Pakistan. If the 148 against Pakistan was hot, the 183* against Sri Lanka later in 2005 was scalding. He informed the world that he arrived.

Batting style and technique

Dhoni’s batting was never about technique and aesthetics. His batting was never for the connoisseurs. He didn’t have a straight-drive like Tendulkar or a cover-drive like Dravid. He didn’t have wrists like Laxman nor was his batting as pleasing to the eye as that of Azharuddin.

But what he did have instead was a never-seen-before helicopter shot which entertained the masses. He had (rather has) the quickest legs in India. His batting showed that he grew up playing in the street. Dhoni’s persona was much sophisticated and it is fine if his batting wasn’t.

He scored 17,266 runs being a man who barely had a fixed position to bat in his entire career, being a man who batted seven times out of ten with tail-enders, being a man who mostly came to bat in the slog overs where he had to hit from the word “go” and being a man whose early arrival at the crease only meant the score to be 40/5.

Playing just one role can be tiring whereas Dhoni was a batsman, a wicketkeeper, and a captain, and yet he aced all the roles with perfection. For a man who faced all that and yet scored as many runs? He deserves many, many accolades. Much more than he receives.

Captaincy and Leadership

Be it batting or captaincy, Dhoni was the summit of unorthodoxy and improvisation. He was shrewd and cunning. The one who always led from the front. The quality least associable with him is stubbornness. When the need arose, he faced the realities and made changes in his batting style. For every tricky situation that arrived on the field, Dhoni had a plan B.

After a shocking exit from the 2007 World Cup, when it came to leading the country at a big stage in a nascent format, Dhoni was chosen and he didn’t disappoint. The ever-composed man went in with a group of young men and ended the way he usually did- victorious.

To look beyond the manifest is the hallmark of a great captain and this man knew how to look beyond. He knew how to outsmart his adversaries. Dhoni was the agilest not just physically, but mentally and tactically as well.

As a leader, he was fearless. While the person in him was reclusive, the captain in him never shied away from expressing. Whether a player was senior or junior, it didn’t matter to him. In Dhoni’s eyes, they were as equal as ever. He was a team-man who knew and understood what a player required and as a captain, he would always be willing to give that. The most selfless man ever, MSD was this large Banyan tree which gave shelter to everyone, but barely got any ever.

He was quick to forgive and would never rant or chide someone even after the worst of performance. On being asked to comment, he would simply begin with a squeaky “well” and go on to say that “everyone has a bad day at the office”. Not many can to do that.

Only very few make natural leaders and MS was surely one. ICC T20 World Cup 2007, ICC World Cup 2011, ICC Champions Trophy 2013, IPL thrice, and Champions League Twenty20 twice, he won every tournament which coincided with his sporting career.

A fan’s tribute

A cryptic puzzle that he is, one can never say “I know Dhoni”. With him, always expect the unexpected. But what I can say, after watching him play for years, is that he is an absolute legend of the game. Barely flustered, Mahi had an encyclopedic knowledge of reading the game. His wisdom was invaluable, his presence priceless. He didn’t just keep wickets for India, he also kept its faith.

Dhoni’s affair with uncertainty, much like his marriage with success, is never-ending. But it’s not all goody-goody. To be Dhoni isn’t easy. To be him means to be subjected to relentless scrutiny, acrimonious jibes, and snide remarks. He was always a point of discussion. Still is! And like always, it is still his silence which makes the most noise.

While Dhoni always stayed away from fuss, fuss never stayed away from him. Nevertheless, he kept winning on and off the field with his nonchalance and aplomb. It may appear that Dhoni simply sailed a boat in a quiet pond, but look closely and you’ll see he sailed a ship amidst storms.

He inspired and showed that if you believe, there’s not a thing impossible. Thank you for being what you are MS. Happy 39th!