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Vinayak Padmadeo
Former India stumper Vijay Dahiya sympathises with the Mahendra Singh Dhoni fan, who has been yearning to see Dhoni’s signature destructive innings for a long time. Dhoni possesses that hitting ability, but these days he chooses to convert singles into doubles rather than going for the helicopter shot over long-on.
The desire to see the old Dhoni of old has his fans divided. His Chennai Super Kings fans love and revere him as a leader. In his blue India shirt, though, though his fans have been loyal for a long time, the mood has changed somewhat in the last year as he has been failing to find the boundaries in the death overs.
Slowing down
Much like his hairstyle, Dhoni’s batting has metamorphosed from the brash hitting of the early days to a single-grabbing monotony.
And his fans who have grown up on the heady cocktail of upper cuts, pulls and occasional slaps to the square fence feel cheated when they see their star scratching around for singles.
Early this year, Dhoni was criticised both by fans and former players for scoring a 37-ball 29 in the first Twenty20 against Australia in Visakhapatnam. Thanks to his cautious scoring, India set Australia a modest total of 127 runs, and the visitors won. A similarly slow innings had brought out the fans’ ire during the One-day series against England last year. Dhoni was booed at the Lord’s in July last year the same day he crossed the 10,000-run milestone. Chasing 323, India could manage only 236 in 50 overs and Dhoni was singled out for scoring a 59-ball 37. Sunil Gavaskar compared that knock to his own infamous innings of 36 not out against England in the 1975 World Cup.
‘Still a hit’
The complaints are getting louder. And Dahiya knows why. “There are times you do get frustrated because you know he has the hitting ability. That is what we saw when he burst into the scene and was hitting sixes for fun,” he said. “But now he has the responsibility of taking the game to the last over. He has got the ability, but he has made peace with himself that there is more fun in finishing the game rather than hitting out and maybe not finishing the job.”
Hitting power
To be fair to the former captain, he still has the ability to attack any bowler. In the IPL game against Delhi Capitals on May 1, he smashed Trent Boult over the deep midwicket off consecutive balls to take CSK to 179. He did the same to Jaydev Unadkat early in the tournament.
But such innings are much rarer in India colours. As his career nears its end the chances are that Hardik Pandya will attempt more helicopter shots in England than the man who made it cool.
Brain power
Dhoni’s reading of the game is remarkable — that’s the main reason he’s still in the team. Even Gavaskar, so critical of him last year, is now a big supporter. The thinking is that the cool-headed Dhoni is good to help the impetuous Kohli focus on the job at hand.
“He’s still tremendous value to the team,” Gavaskar said early this year. “That value you cannot calculate at all. He keeps telling the bowlers to bowl a particular delivery, what a batsman is planning to do. He has a sense of what a batsman is thinking... These are the kind of things where Dhoni helps the bowlers and of course with the field placing...”
Gavaskar nailed it — he retains the respect of both his captain and the dressing room. When the going gets tough, Kohli leans on him for advice, even handing him the responsibility to marshal the troops when he himself is fielding near the fence.
Times have changed, Dhoni has changed — he’s more brain than brawn now, and that’s his role in the team now. The fans better take note.
INDIA SQUAD
MS DHONI
KEEPER OF HOPES
Factfile
Age: 37 years 319 days
Born in: Ranchi, Jharkhand
Major teams: India, Bihar, CSK, Rising Pune Supergiants
TRIVIA
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