The shy boy from MECON Colony

Retracing MS Dhoni’s path from Ranchi to Indian cricket history

By Anish Pathiyil

‘Main pal do pal ka shayar hoon’ played in the background of a video posted on Instagram, on August 15, 2020. Below the video, the caption read, “Thanks. Thanks a lot for ur love and support throughout. from 1929 hrs consider me retired.” And just like that, in a casual social media post, MS Dhoni said goodbye. In terms of his stature in Indian cricket, neither was he a ‘pal do pal ka shayar’ nor was his story a ‘pal do pal ki kahani’.

More than the runs he scored, the catches he took, the stumpings he effected or even the helicopter shots, the persona of Dhoni is what made him stand out from the crowd. Captain Cool, as he has been called a million times, was a once-in-a-generation cricketer who made the best use of his brawn and brain to become one of the torch-bearers of Indian cricket. From a middle-class upbringing in MECON Colony, Ranchi, to the chants of ‘Dhoni!,Dhoni!’ and ‘Vande Mataram’ reverberating in a jam-packed Wankhede stadium in Mumbai, during the World Cup final in 2011, Dhoni’s life has been a lesson on how self-belief and hard work will take you to heights never attained before.

Dhoni, the cricketer, first caught the eye of the selectors during the U-19 Cooch Behar trophy in 1998-99. In the subsequent Ranji trophy season, he represented Bihar, scoring a half-century on debut. After a few average seasons, in the 2003-04 Deodhar trophy, Dhoni impressed the national scouts, earning him a spot in the India A squad. After scoring a bucket-load of runs for India A, Dhoni was selected to the Indian team. After a disastrous first series against Bangladesh, he scored 148 in the second match against Pakistan and cemented his name in the record books as the highest score by an Indian wicketkeeper. In the series against Sri Lanka, he bettered the record, scoring 183* at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur.

The inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007 was Dhoni’s first assignment as captain of the team. The success of a second-string Indian side changed the fortunes of T20 cricket and propelled Dhoni’s unique captaincy credentials. Under his captaincy, the team achieved the pinnacle of success by winning the ODI World Cup at home in 2011, with Dhoni winning the ‘Man of the Match’ award in the final. His six to finish the match will remain one of the greatest moments in Indian cricket history.

Dhoni’s next major achievement was winning the 2013 Champions Trophy in England, in conditions alien to the Indian bowling attack—MENTION THOSE CONDITIONS. He, till date, remains the only captain to have won the T20 World cup, ODI World Cup and the Champions Trophy. Although he retired from Tests in 2014 and gave up the limited-overs captaincy to Virat Kohli in 2016, Dhoni remained an integral part of the team, ending up with more than 10,000 runs in ODIs, a marvellous feat for someone who bats down the order.

Every Indian fan hoped that he would bow out with a World Cup win in 2019, but the brilliance of Martin Guptill put an end to their hopes, with the former captain dismissed via a runout. After his retirement, Dhoni continues to play in the Indian T20 league for the Chennai Super Kings. The ‘Thala’ continues to spearhead the franchise 15 years after its inception. The last few years of his cricketing career continue to be an emotional affair for the fans. Every catch, every boundary or even his successful fielding tweaks are met with thunderous applause. Considering his tactical knowledge of the game, the cricket fraternity will be eagerly waiting for his second innings as a coach.