Ever since MS Dhoni stepped down as India’s captain in the limited-overs format, there has been speculation in the media about whether it was his decision or was he asked to take the step. We will never know what the truth is till the time we get to hear it from the horse’s mouth.
But the chances of that are next to none, going by Dhoni’s rare “tell-all” media interactions. In fact, chances are that he would be India’s only cricket captain who would have given the least number of one-on-one interviews keeping in mind the duration he stayed at the helm.
Most of Dhoni’s media interactions were the pre-and-post game PCs (the term used for press conference) and the odd public appearance he does for the brands he endorses and the businesses he is associated with. His has been a unique relationship with journalists.
Unique in the sense that all his predecessors since the post liberalisation period (especially since the advent of satellite television, which made cricket the sport it is today) had certain journalists whom they would entertain when it came to interviews and some they would not. Yet, with Dhoni there was a sense of equality in the manner he treated the fraternity and many considered that approach as “unfriendly”.
The art of dodging questions
In the nine years MS Dhoni captained India, his PCs gained a cult status in the cricket media fraternity and can be good study material in the art of dodging questions, even though not refusing to speak on issues. He hardly gave away anything but could still keep the listener hooked on to him.
His PCs had metaphors, analogies, observations and jibes but it was the usable quote, as journalists often complained, that was missing. The expressions too did not change and hence did not reveal what he felt about an issue.
Amongst the hundreds of PCs he addressed, one during the Australia tour of 2014-‘15 was a trademark Dhoni PC. Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan allegedly had a public spat during Brisbane Test and there were reports of “unrest” in the team.
Most captains would have avoided answering anything on the matter, some would have handled it aggressively but Dhoni decided to indulge in satire.
‘They should make a movie out of this’
“Yeah, actually that was the case. Virat used a knife and he stabbed Shikhar. When he recovered out of that we pushed him out to bat,” he said with a smirk and a poker-face that would make many a stand-up comic insecure.
He would add, “These are all stories Marvel-Warner Brothers should pick them up and make a movie out of it. I don’t know where it comes from. Someone from the team has actually told you this, it will be interesting if you give us the name of the individual who said this, because his imagination is really brilliant and he should be working for the Warner Brothers movie company.”
His jovial manner continued, but he also ensured that he sent a firm message: “He (the person who leaked the story) doesn’t deserve to be in our dressing room because he has created something that hasn’t been there at all.”
Then there was another Dhoni PC which had sarcasm written all over it and this was after India were ousted by the West Indies in the semi-finals of the World Twenty20 in Mumbai last year. A scribe sitting next to me would ask the skipper this – “You have achieved pretty much everything in cricket. Are you keen to continue playing on?”
‘Come, let’s have some fun’
Dhoni smiled and invited this gentleman on to the podium, saying, “Come let’s have some fun.” Sam Ferri,s who was covering that game for cricket.com.au, was now sitting with the Indian captain and answering Dhoni’s questions which would go like this:
Dhoni: “Do you want me to retire?”
Ferris: “Ahh, no, that’s what I was going to ask you.”
Dhoni then started to explain that he hoped it was an Indian reporter that had asked him that question and then returned to Ferris with a loaded one: “Do you think I’m unfit, looking at me running?”
“No,” answered Ferris, and adding “very fast.”
“Do you think I can survive until the 2019 World Cup?” Dhoni probed further.
“Umm … yes. Sure,” replied Ferris.
“Then, you have the answer to your question,” finished Dhoni.
As Ferris went off-stage to a slight applause and laughter, Dhoni explained again why he wanted an Indian reporter to ask the question.
“I wish it was an Indian media person, then I would have asked if he has a son who is a wicket-keeper and ready to play. He would have said no, then I would have said maybe a brother who is a wicketkeeper and who is ready to play. You fired the wrong ammunition at the wrong time.”
At the end of that PC, Sam Ferris, in his words, “was trending on Twitter”.
Never stuck for a response
Another example of Dhoni giving it back to the media was on the 2013 tour to South Africa, when he was asked about what was the toughest thing to adjust to on tours. He had stated, “I think being asked the same questions. It doesn’t really change much. If you look back to the last time we were here, the questions were much the same.”
There have not been many occasions when Dhoni failed to deal with the tough questions posed by the media. And this included a period he lost eight consecutive overseas Tests in England and Australia in 2011-‘12. When asked about the difference between losing 4-0 in England and in Australia, he had replied, “You die, you die. You don’t see which is the better way to die.”
It was only during the pre-departure PC in Mumbai in May 2013 when the team had to leave for England to participate in the Champions Trophy, when Dhoni did not, or could not, use his wit to tackle the scribes. He refused to reply any questions on the Indian Premier League fixing scandal.
But this does not mean Dhoni’s relations with the media were not good. There were various instances that revealed his love and respect for the journalists fraternity.
Mahi’s gentler side
It was the second and final Test of India’s tour of South Africa in 2013-‘14. The team and the media contingent reached Durban for the Boxing Day game. As the Indian players, led by Dhoni, walked out of the dressing room towards the practice arena, the media contingent waited by the side of the nets. While each one of them assembled inside, Dhoni moved towards the area where the press was waiting.
Reaching there, he called for the Indian photojournalist who on his way from Johannesburg to Durban had lost all his equipment, close to Rs 8 lakh, during a theft on his bus. “Have you informed your boss that this has happened,” Dhoni asked the photographer. On being told that the boss was not too pleased, Dhoni offered to write to the authorities if required, though chances of recovery are very less. Dhoni did not have do this, but the fact that he did says a lot about him.
During the same game, a former colleague and cricket writer Anand Vasu was covering his 50th Test and got an autographed bat from the Indian skipper, wishing him well.
In 2014, another cricket journalist, Vimal Kumar, invited Dhoni to attend his book launch on Sachin Tendulkar’s 100 centuries. Dhoni would agree to attend the event after a lot of persuasion from the author, but despite being initially reluctant to speak, he would speak for 45 minutes. What followed was even special in the author’s words. “He touched my father’s feet and that is something I will never ever forget,” recalled Kumar.
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