Mahendra Singh Dhoni is 35 years old.
Thirty five. When did it happen? Wasn’t it just yesterday when a brash-looking, long-haired Ranchi lad came out to bat in the most unorthodox of styles and flayed the Pakistan bowling attack to all corners of the ground? Wasn’t it just some time back when he held up that World Twenty20 trophy in Johannesburg? And then that glittering World Cup trophy with the majestic Gateway of India behind him in Mumbai?
It’s all gone in a blur. A blur of press conferences, last-ball finishes, sixes, talk about “processes”. And suddenly, we’ve reached the final lap.
The era of Dhoni
Maybe it has to do with how the icons are placed in our cricketing consciousness. Dhoni made his debut at the fag end of the Sourav Ganguly reign in 2004 and played through the dark Rahul Dravid-Greg Chappell era. But for all intents and purposes, he was more sideshow then than the main attraction. He is remembered by the era he forged after those dark days in West Indies in 2007 when India crashed out in the group stage of the World Cup after going down to Bangladesh.
India then travelled to South Africa for, what they presumed, would be a bit of a hit and a giggle and from then onward, Mahendra Singh Dhoni was man, hero, superman. He became India’s finest and best captain, Captain Cool, a finisher par excellence, methodical, expressionless, stoic.
And suddenly he’s 35 and there’s that uncomfortable feeling in the stomach: the Dhoni era is winding down.
What do we remember from his era? Strangely enough, a lot of the good and quite a bit of the bad. And it is strange because for someone who has achieved as much as Dhoni in cricket, criticism should have been a stranger. Dhoni took India to the sort of success that they had never seen earlier. He became one of the first icons of the Twenty20 generation: a one-of-a-kind cricketer who spawned thousands of lookalikes with his peerless last-over hitting; heralding the team through a stage when some of its best were retiring and ensuring the transition was smooth.
Hated and loved
He should be celebrated and praised to the skies. A shoo-in to Indian cricket’s Hall of Fame, if there ever existed one.
But he is not. And therein lies the enigma of Mahi.
Watch any match where he is batting and keep an eye on social media. Witness how the battle unfolds. A Dhoni failure will bring it all to the surface: “India’s worst captain”. “Dhoni is a selfish cricketer”. “He has ruined Indian cricket”. This would immediately countered by several reaffirming their loyalty to the Indian skipper and taking on the haters.
For someone who has done as much for Indian cricket, Dhoni invokes conflicted emotions. For all his success, the criticism he faces, has never receded. His closeness with N Srinivasan, the controversial former president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, remains a hot potato. Allegations about conflict of interest lurk dangerously around the corner. His stoicism and inscrutability, at times hilarious, are often used against him. His closeness and allegiance to certain players is questioned.
Maybe Dhoni is a product of the times where there is no place for perfection (except, if you’re Roger Federer, of course). In a social media age, loyalty and heroism must be fought over and sides must be picked. In the middle, it is the Indian skipper who is caught in the crossfire. Damned when he does, damned when he doesn’t.
If he hits a six off the last ball, he is the best India has ever seen. If he mishits by even a centimetre and it goes down deep long-on’s throat, he has ruined Indian cricket, is a selfish player and must immediately retire from the Indian cricket team.
There is a biopic on the man coming out in September this year. Not many Indian cricketers have had biopics made on them, but it is easy to see why Dhoni’s story makes for an interesting story to any director. It is the story of a man from humble origins who made it to the biggest stage possible, gave the country its biggest successes in its favourite sport and yet never found universal adoration, and perhaps never will.
History will hopefully be kinder to Dhoni. Because at 35, the sun has already started sinking on the Dhoni era. And in the twilight he leaves behind, perhaps the country will truly understand the sunshine he brought them.