Goodbye M S Dhoni

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 loses its star batsman Sachin Tendulkar, still requiring loads of run. Those days the end of Tendulkar was usually considered as beginning of India's impending end. Nonchalantly walks in this man with long hair, a tyro following a connoisseur. Nobody expected much from this young man from the nondescript, impoverished state of Jharkhand, M S DHONI. In middle of a hostile India baiting (rather hating) crowd, he led a successful India chase staying as cool as iceberg. It's not very common to be newcomer to crash into limelight in a nail biting, pressure cooker rivalry between the arch rivals. Dhoni's performance in Pakistan's own backyard earned praise from no other than then 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). Arguably Dhoni was the harbinger of a new era when Indians finally got out the cycles of defeats against Pakistan, not any more the nerve and guts to fight under adverse circumstances.  

 

Dhoni continued to flourish and never looked back since. His biggest contribution to India was his leadership under which India won the World Cup in 2011. An abrupt end to his test career came as he announced an impromptu retirement, arguably on the behalf of BCCI not known for its foresight and professionalism. For long Dhoni was a man surrounded by several controversies and debates around him. But what's not debatable is the fact that the man deserved farewell test match, same as an employee deserves the same after a long stint. He should have been allowed to play in Sydney Test as a fitting finale to an epic career on an epic ground. Such  unsportsmanlike conduct can only be expected from BCCI managed by folks who are more apt at politics than sports. If a person of the caliber and stature of Dhoni doesn't get the farewell he deserves it could be the death knell for the moral of achievers in a nation who sadly can't boast of many in the arena of sports. Hats off to legend and a God to many in a country where cricket is the religion.