Sambeet Dash
It was early 2006. India was chasing a sizable Pakistani total in front of a hostile home crowd in Lahore. At a crucial moment India lost its star batsman Sachin Tendulkar, still needing tons of run to see through their target. The highly partisan Pakistan cricket went berserk in the stadium in anticipation of victory after getting their prized scalp of Sachin, seen as the last man standing.
Those days the end of Tendulkar was regarded as the beginning of India’s impending end. Nonchalantly walks in a young man with long hair, a tyro – who followed the departure all connoisseur batsmen left. Nobody expected much from this guy named MS Dhoni from a non descript, impoverished state named Jharkhand.
In middle of a hostile India baiting (rather hating) crowd, he led a successful chase staying as cool as an iceberg. The cheering crowd conspicuously fell silent as Dhoni, cool as cucumber led the charge of Indian fightback. He made the Chief Minister of Punjab, Sahbaz Sharief (brother of Nawaz Sharief) who was inside the stadium safely ensconced in his box, tense enough to come out and puff away smokes from his cigarettes from the sidelines. Smile had apparently vanished from his lips, his long, quick drags of cigarettes revealed his apparent nervousness.
It’s not a very common characteristics of a newcomer to crash into limelight in such a challenging scenario in middle of a nail biting, pressure cooker rivalry between two arch rivals. A new star was born that day. India’s subsequent win due to Dhoni’s performance in Pakistan’s own backyard earned praise from non other than President General Musharaf, not a huge fan of India or Indians by any standard. (Musharaf incidentally told Dhoni not to cut his trademark long hair as it looked good on him).
Arguably Dhoni was the harbinger of a new era when Indians finally got out the endless cycle of meekly surrendering against Pakistan to the chagrin and disappoint of its fans. Soon India was no more seen as lacking the nerve and guts to fight under adverse circumstances.
Dhoni continued to flourish and never looked back. His quitting today from all formats of the game brings back memories of his biggest gift to cricket which is a religion and a huge unifying factor in a nation divided on the lines of religion, caste and what not ! Under his leadership India won the much coveted World Cup in 2011. Three years later followed his abrupt relinquishing of test career to the surprise of tens of millions of his fans. But he continued playing for long time in the shorter versions of the game.
A la most long lasting Indian Captains, Dhoni’s tenure wasn’t free from its share of controversies, with partisan debates surrounding him. But what’s not debatable is his commitment and contribution to Indian cricket. The man has earned it. Hats off to a legend and God to many in a country where cricket is the religion. Wish you a happy retirement.
(Author is an Odia technocrat living in the USA. Views are personal)