Mahendra Singh Dhoni, a name not known to many three years ago, is now the captain of the Indian cricket team, number one in ODI batsmen rankings, highest paid player in the IPL, the most successful Indian captain off late, and more importantly, the debugger of the Mendis code. But what’s Dhoni got in him that made him climb the ladder of success at such a phenomenal pace? Just a quick preview of the days leading to Dhoni’s arrival into the world cricket and the change that he got in the Indian cricket team thereafter.
Dhoni began his international career with the Bangladesh tour in 2004/05. But it was the Pakistan ODI series that brought him into the limelight. His 148 off 123 balls in Vishakhapatnam (India), was a treat to watch. All the people (I was one among them) who got to see this match believed that a great cricketer was in the making. Till date, India saw Sachin’s class, Sourav’s elegance, Dravid’s sound defense, but this man was brute force. He along with Sehwag made cricket fans echo the feeling of – footwork, my foot!
It was time for 2007 world cup. India was deemed favorite, next to Australia, after their appearance in the final of the 2003 edition. Indian cricket team was aging on the shoulders of Dravid, Sachin and Sourav. But no one had the wild guess of what was on offer in West Indies. Sachin lost his style, Sourav was tormented with the short ball and the wall (Dravid) showed cracks deep enough, that India suffered a shocking exit from the first round of the world cup. The subsequent protests, of the irate fans, back in India saw Greg Chappel step down as India’s coach and a search for Dravid’s successor had begun.
Indian selectors were in a dilemma about the squad for the inaugural T-20 championship in South Africa. The decision of the big three (Sachin, Sourav and Dravid) to opt out of the T-20, was a blessing in disguise for the Indian cricket. India picked up a young squad with the players in the age group of 18-26 and Mahendra Singh Dhoni was named the captain. However, India was written off even before the tournament started, as they had played only one T-20 match prior to the tournament. But boy! How well has India pulled off the victory in the T-20 championship, and Dhoni is the man who deserves all the credit for marshalling his troops towards victory. That series made a strong point about the abilities of India’s future captain, Dhoni, and also saw the emergence of Gambhir, Rohit, Praveen etc. But this was just the beginning. The CB series victory in Australia, considered as one of India’s greatest wins overseas, earned Dhoni accolades from all over the world, including the Australian team.
The recent ODI series victory in Srilanka is just another addition to Dhoni’s success list. But there is a hidden truth behind all the three (T-20, CB series and Sri Lanka series) victories. India was down and out even before the series started. India was off the favorites list before the T-20, suffered a test series defeat at the hands of Australia and mauled by Srilanka (by Mendis and Murali would be appropriate) in the test series. But India pulled off victories, under Dhoni, much to the surprise of all the Indian fans. The cricket pundits were puzzled as how could an amateur team pull off victory in the T-20 world cup, defeat Australia in their backyard and handle Mendis who troubled the Indian biggies. By now they should have found their answers in Dhoni.
To wrap off, this man, Dhoni, has outstanding abilities that binds all the young players together on field and make them perform to their potential. And how well has he modified his own approach towards batting and has been performing consistently in all the major Indian wins. Great going Dhoni! The Indian fans and the cricket fans all over the world look forward to see a revival of Indian cricket and dream to conquer the world cup again. If there is any team that can do it, it’s this man and his team.
Leave Your Comments