Mahendra Singh Dhoni's bildungsroman: Long-haired iconoclast to elder statesman in blink of an eye

Dhoni with the biggest scalp in limited-over format- 2011 World Cup

India won every match they played on the tour, including the warm-up games. India not just won all their matches on the tour, they demolished nearly every opponent. Australia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, South Africa, West Indies- every team seemed much inferior against the Indian team.

And although the final against England was a shortened version, Dhoni still had enough time to show his street smartness. Ishant Sharma had had a forgettable day with the ball. England needed 24 of the last three overs. Dhoni had one over of Bhuwaneshwar Kumar and two overs of Umesh Yadav along with an over each of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin.

Dhoni chose Ishant Sharma ahead of all other alternatives. The rest is history as Ishant picked up Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara in the same over. Dhoni again stood vindicated.

Once again there was a gesture with human touch in handing over the trophy to the tournament’s best batsman Shikhar Dhawan. Once again there was a display of the elderly statesman attitude in allowing the younger teammates to lead the celebrations while preferring to stay out of the celebrations.

One of the virtues that some of India’s previous captains possessed was their ability to present their points of view quite articulately. Rahul Dravid was easily one of India’s finest speakers. Anil Kumble’s words too were always highly measured and at the same time always made the point that was intended. Sourav Ganguly was much more aggressive but in no way could he be judged as a bad speaker.

These were people who the world would stand up to listen to when they spoke. Dhoni has proved to be no mug either in that department as well. His speeches are often very articulate and almost always quite rich in content. There is never any loose talk when Dhoni speaks.

Whatever he lacks in literary quality when compared to the likes of Dravid and Kumble, he makes up for it through his ability to say the right things at the right times. It is very difficult to recall a Dhoni statement where he has publicly singled out a player for poor performance. The only such incident that immediately springs to mind too was while captaining the Chennai Super Kings team in the IPL.

It is even more difficult to recall a Dhoni statement where he has singled out a player for good performance. He always makes sure that every victory is always credited to the team. There is always a sense of control when Dhoni speaks. To put it simply, his speeches, too, are characterized by the qualities that characterizes his batting- simplicity and clarity of thought.

The 2013 edition of the IPL will not be remembered most for the unpleasant match-fixing revelations that came out during the tournament. Indian cricket, like 12 years earlier, was under the scanner and needed somebody to stand up for it.

Twelve years ago, it was Sourav Ganguly. This time it was Mahendra Singh Dhoni. In the press conference just before leaving for the Champions Trophy, Dhoni was repeatedly posed questions on the state of match-fixing and its indulgence in Indian cricket. Dhoni thwarted all those questions. In his first press conference on reaching England, Dhoni was again posed the same questions, this time by the English journalists. Dhoni’s response: “If I have not answered Indian journalists, there is no reason why I should answer you. I will speak at the right time.”

After India won the final against England, Dhoni was asked about the improvement in India’s fielding standards as to whether it was just a group of brilliant athletes coming at the same time or a change in the culture. Dhoni was again very articulate with his reply. While admitting that it was due to a cultural change he ensured that nobody could point a finger at previous teams. He contrasted the quality of infrastructure available to young and upcoming players to that available to players a few years ago.

Again, while he made his point, he ensured that nothing could be seen as wrong with the past or nothing was special with the present. Much as he does while leading the team out in the park, he ensures that the pride of Indian cricket remains intact.

Whatever Mahendra Singh Dhoni does, he seems to have a purpose behind it. Whatever he says, he seems to have a lot of sense in it. Most importantly, and against popular opinion, whatever he does, he seems to have a lot of logic-backed thought behind it.

In his early days, it was his hairstyle and his love for bikes that influenced cricket viewers. In his present form, MS Dhoni the captain, MS Dhoni the player and most of all MS Dhoni the man, continues to influence people.

Sourav Ganguly divided opinions, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and VVS Laxman were little known outside the cricket field. Dhoni, on the other hand, creates a consensus, and at the same time, has the personality to carry people with him. In that sense, since Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the biggest thing that has happened to Indian cricket. He may not be the ‘God’ that Sachin Tendulkar went on to become for Indian cricket. But he certainly is ‘The Man’ that Indian cricket needs in these times.