MS DHONI: A SOCIAL ICON FOR SMALL TOWN INDIA’S ASPIRATIONS

IPL, MORE TIME WITH THE ARMY AND COMMERCIAL COMMITMENTS LIKELY TO KEEP HIM BUSY

The game of cricket has seen several legends stepping into retirement before Mahendra Singh Dhoni — and will see after him as well. The signing off speeches do betray a hint of tear here and there and then the floodgate of emotions open to sweep us with a collage of memories and tributes.

It was perhaps a given that ‘MSD’ was not going to give us any such chance — going by the experience of past occasions when he first quit Test cricket and its captaincy and then two years down the line, the white ball captaincy. One can say with a degree of conviction that any suggestion of walking into a golden sunset like a Sachin Tendulkar would have evoked that derisive smile at the corner of his lips.

However, the fact remains that even 48 hours after his instagram video to ‘consider’ him retired from international cricket — the deluge of emotions for this cricketing hero refuses to die down. A video released on the social media of Chennai Super Kings shows him carrying a trademark smile as the ‘Thala’ (leader) walks into their dressing room after a knock at the nets to get a bearhug from Suresh Raina — who announced his retirement on the footsteps of his leader on the social media half-and-hour later.

Was there an internal haemorrage? Or did the pragmatist Dhoni make up his mind quite a few months back itself as the chances of a last hurrah in the T20 World Cup dimmed once the IPL 2020 became uncertain in end-March as the Covid-19 pandemic spread its tentacles in India?

What was the significance of choosing August 15, India’s Independence Day, to announce his retirement from international cricket? An interview with Raina with a regional daily gave a peek to their masterplan — while the day marked the 73rd anniversary of the independence — the jersey numbers of Dhoni and Raina when placed together also reads 73!

It may be virtually impossible to decode Dhoni the person, but here is a look at his cricketing legacy and the challenges that still lie ahead of him:

AFP Above: Indian captain Dhoni collects the stumps as souvenir after defeating Australia in a World Twenty20 match in 2016. Right: Mahendra Singh Dhoni, with teammates Praveen Kumar and Suresh Raina, rides a bike he won for being the Man of the Tournament after the final ODI against England at the Eden Gardens in 2011.