Dhoni: The rockstar who turned into a sage

The most insightful thing about Mahendra Singh Dhoni was said by the man who is despised by many Indian cricket fans, and cricketers. When asked about Dhoni’s calm demeanour, former India coach, the much-reviled Greg Chappell once said: “He is an old soul. He has been here before.”

Think about the philosophical observation again. During his 15 years in cricket, Dhoni went about the task of batting, winning matches, captaining India to two World Cup titles as if he had been trained in some past life to do that. As if, it was his practised to perfection karma and destiny.

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The most intriguing thing about Dhoni, who retired from international cricket on Saturday, August 15, is not that he won so much for India as a captain, or that he demolished so many bowlers. What stands out is the way he did it: with pronounced detachment, by maintaining an emotional distance from his karma, and literally personifying the idea of “karmanye vadhikaraste…” (Do your karma without thinking about the result.)

Go back to some of the greatest moments of his life. It is April 2, 2011. The entire Wankhede Stadium is buzzing with excitement. Nuvan Kulasekhara pitches it just short of a length. Dhoni swings his bat and the ball sails over midwicket.

At the other end, Yuvraj Singh has broken into a bhangra. In the stands thousands of people are going wild. On the streets of India, the world’s biggest party has begun. That’s India’s first world cup win in three decades. But, Dhoni’s mien tells you he’s finished just another day at work and is going home after clearing a routine file.

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Revisit another montage from 2007. The Indian team is being taken on an open bus from the Mumbai airport. The crowds are ecstatic; his fellow players are dancing. Dhoni, captain of the team that’s returned with the T-20 world cup, is watching everything with a blank face. You’d almost believe he is bored and ready to recite Ghalib’s philosophical lines: the world is like a children’s playground, every day I see a new drama here. (Bazeecha-e- atfal hai duniya mere aage..)

Even in the middle of controversies, Dhoni kept a straight face and focussed only on cricket. When his IPL team, Chennai Super Kings, was banned because of charges of match-fixing, when he was facing charges of conflict of interest because of his business interests, Dhoni didn’t let the noise distract him. He went ahead and did his thing and in the process won the Champion’s Trophy for India in England.

Sports psychologist and trainer Paddy Upton, who worked with the Indian team, was to later write in his book: “I would go as far as to say, with the greatest respect for MS the man and the cricketer, that it is not emotional control but the lack of access to emotions.”

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But, Dhoni wasn’t always like this. In 2005, when he burst on the scene with a century against Pakistan at Vizag, Dhoni appeared to be a swashbuckler who loved to play it up. A few days after his maiden century, Dhoni hit 10 sixes, 15 fours to score what remains his best score—183 off 145 balls. The moment he scored his century, Dhoni turned into a rockstar, strumming his bat like a guitar. A few months later, every time he pulverised Pakistani bowlers in tandem with Yuvraj Singh on their home soil, both the Indian batsmen would remind everyone of Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid with their joie de vivre.

That rockstar, however, morphed into a sage on the field a few months later.

What changed Dhoni?

Dhoni has always been an enigma, an intensely private man who has rarely spoken about anything other than cricket. But, one reason for his transformation could have been his sudden elevation to captaincy. It may now seem he was destined to be India’s captain but the fact is he got the top job after just two years of international cricket—and that too because the Indian cricket board decided to rest some of the bigger stars for the inaugural T-20 world cup.

In the winter of 2005, when Dhoni was just about settling down in the team, who would have imagined he would one day captain Sachin Tendulkar, Virendra Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Yuvraj Singh? But, Dhoni, the old soul, had an early date with destiny.

Captaincy changed Dhoni in every possible way. It wasn’t just happenstance that he cut his hair short, stopped dying them in golden hues after the win at Johannesburg, even when Pervez Mysharraf advised against it. It was a conscious image make-over from a swashbuckler to a responsible, mature man ready to lead a team packed with stars. Even as a batsman, Dhoni made an important decision—he would bat lower down the order and finish games for India instead of exposing himself at the top of the order.

It may come as a surprise to many that Dhoni rarely answered phone calls even from his team-mates. In 2012, when VVS Laxman retired from international cricket, he had stirred a controversy by saying he tried to contact Dhoni, who was the captain then, but could not contact him. Similar complaints were made by many other cricketers and administrators in private.

It is, thus, an enduring enigma that a private, almost reclusive man, went on to become one of India’s greatest captains.

One of his biggest strengths as captain was that once he had faith in a player, he would back him even if the performance belied his initial confidence. In another era or under a different captain, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja and Rohit Sharma may have been discarded after their initial failures. But, Dhoni stuck with them, sometimes even appearing a bit obstinate about his choices. The flip side, of course, is that some players had to retire early because Dhoni didn’t have faith in them. But, that’s a different story.

Dhoni also had the temerity to take some audacious decisions and the good fortune to benefit from them. In the 2007 final against Pakistan, he decided to open the innings with Yusuf Pathan, who was making his debut. Then, he called Jogender Sharma for the last over when Misbah ul Haq had taken Pakistan to the doorsteps of victory.

On another occasion, with Bangladesh on the verge of knocking India out of the T-20 world cup, he called Hardik Pandya to bowl the final over. And, with just one required to tie the scores, he took off his keeping glove, asked Pandya to bowl a bouncer and ran the Bangladeshi batsman out by dashing at the stumps.

On any other day, these decisions could have backfired, changing Dhoni’s CV and destiny. But, as Napolean Bonaparte said, Dhoni turned out to be a lucky general.

It would be easy to assume Dhoni never feared the consequences of his innovations on the go. But, from the very beginning of his life, he had learned to take bold decisions and be prepared to face the consequences. This was highlighted in the post-match comments after his greatest and most memorable innovations—the decision to promote himself in the 2011 world cup final when it was the in-form Yuvraj Singh’s turn to go out to bat.

“I took a quite few decisions tonight, if we hadn’t won I would have been asked quite a few questions: Why no (Ravichandran) Ashwin, why Sreesanth? Why no Yuvraj, why did I bat ahead?! That pushed me and motivated to do well. The pressure had got to me in the previous games. In this game, I wanted to bat up the order and Gary backed me and by the senior players. I had a point to prove to myself.”

That’s quintessential Dhoni for you: a risk-taker who always looks at an opportunity to prove himself.

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There is an apocryphal story about Dhoni that says he wanted just Rs.57 lakh—notice the exact figure—in his account to retire. But, he is quitting international cricket as one of the richest sportspersons in the world. If you are a keen observer, you would have noticed even today he endorses more products than any other player, including Virat Kohli.

Those who have seen Dhoni’s latest ads may also have noticed he has gained some bulk. Some of this may have been because of the lack of international and national cricket since his sabbatical after the 2019 world cup semi-final. But, it was also a subtle hint that Dhoni may not have been training for a quick return to cricket. Whatever was left of his ambition and motivation may have been doused by the coronavirus pandemic.

To be honest, his retirement was a mere formality after his below par performance as a batsman over the past two years. Reams can be written about the timing of his decision. It can be argued he should have left two years ago, like Sunil Gavaskar, at his peak. But, it can also be argued he was still India’s best wicketkeeper and leader, even if Virat Kohli was officially the team’s captain.

There is life beyond cricket for Dhoni. He likes to ride his bikes with a licensed gun stashed in his bag. He loves to go to shooting ranges and practice marksmanship. And he is in love with his role as a Lt Colonel in the Indian Territorial Army, something that, many believe, he is more passionate about than cricket.

He would, of course, continue to be part of the Chennai Super Kings. But now that he has decided to give up some of his responsibilities, let’s hope we’d see a glimpse of the original Dhoni. The golden locks may never return. But, strumming an imaginary guitar when he hits the winning six with a helicopter shot would be a good beginning.