MS Dhoni's retention seems so wrong that it must be right

10th October, 2021, MS Dhoni purposefully strides out with a game firmly in the balance. At first, this move is looked upon skeptically because, well, Dhoni hasn’t been at his best for the past two years. He no longer plays international cricket and isn’t the fearsome presence he once was.

The decision to promote himself ahead of Ravindra Jadeja, who has been the best finisher in the IPL, is, to an extent, even tempting fate. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of sense in this particular maneuver.

And, when considering Dhoni’s dwindling powers and Jadeja’s rising stock, it even seems absurd. In fact, it feels so wrong that the Chennai Super Kings faithful are led to believe that it must be right.

Over the course of the next few minutes, Dhoni ensures that his ploy pays off. He rewinds the clock just enough to pummel Avesh Khan over mid-wicket, scythe Tom Curran over extra cover and swat aside the Delhi Capitals’ challenge.

Before the game, the chatter had been around how CSK’s middle order had been struggling and that they might huff and puff, especially when push came to shove. Once the encounter transpired, those murmurs gradually morphed into hushed whispers.

More importantly, a few dared to ask, “Does MS Dhoni still have it in him to single-handedly win games of cricket”?

Prima facie, the answer to that question is in the negative, meaning that when CSK decided to retain Dhoni for the 2022 iteration of the IPL, there were eyebrows raised. Not because the former Indian captain is a pale shadow of his illustrious self but also because the franchise spent a better chunk of 12 crore INR to keep him on board.

Had CSK not done so, they could’ve invested that much money in retaining Faf du Plessis – someone who is regularly playing franchise cricket and distinguishing himself. The South African, by the way, is not a bad captaincy choice either.

CSK could also have earmarked Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur as potential retentions, considering both are at the peak of their powers and have been vital cogs in the outfit’s wheel in the past couple of seasons.

On a lot of different fronts, Dhoni being re-acquired reeks of a missed opportunity, considering most of their core would be tough to buy at the auction.

But Dhoni and CSK have proven that they don’t bank on that aspect a lot. They often seem a team on the verge of a capitulation – as it happened in 2020. Yet, they are a side that finds itself in the final more regularly than it seems possible – a paradox that is largely explained by their faith in Dhoni.

Over the years, CSK haven’t spent exorbitantly on players in the auction. But when they did (way back in 2008), they signed Dhoni. Ever since, the wicket-keeper has been at the forefront of everything good the franchise has done and has been the heartbeat of the team.

Everything seems to flow through Dhoni, meaning that CSK have also adopted the tack of keeping things simple, backing their players to the hilt and only resorting to tweaking when absolutely necessary.

It is this very approach that has allowed Dhoni to unlock the true potential of talented cricketers. There are countless examples too – both in international and franchise cricket.

Virat Kohli might not have become the all-format behemoth he is had Dhoni dropped him on the 2011-12 tour Down Under. Rohit Sharma might not have notched up three ODI double tons had he not started opening in 2013.

Ambati Rayudu might not have bombarded his way back into the Indian team post the 2018 IPL season, whereas Shane Watson might also not have produced his stellar century in the 2018 IPL final had Dhoni pulled the trigger earlier. And, of course, Ruturaj Gaikwad might not have transformed his spark into a raging fire.

Gaikwad has benefited from the trust shown in him (Pic Credits: Wallpaper cave)

Moreover, the CSK team, even at the best of times, seems a bunch of misfits – a group assembled through an unglamorous scouting program but a group that doesn’t really send shivers down most spines.

To add context, only four of the eleven (Josh Hazlewood, Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur) who played in the 2021 IPL final have been consistently representing their countries.

A few others, namely Deepak Chahar and Ruturaj Gaikwad, have only featured intermittently. The rest – the likes of Dhoni, Dwayne Bravo, Rayudu, Robin Uthappa and Suresh Raina have passed on the international baton to younger countrymen.

In contrast, a team like the Delhi Capitals or the Mumbai Indians have most of their players playing international cricket frequently. But Dhoni still finds a way to make them tick. Not just tick, he seems to evolve a mechanism to make the most of whatever he has. And get to IPL finals, of course.

MS Dhoni and CSK will have a special place in IPL folklore

The most telling aspect, though, is that Dhoni and CSK’s bond goes way beyond cricket. Its basis lies in an emotional connect that can hardly be deemed tangible but also, isn’t something that can’t be accounted for.

To an extent, CSK symbolizes everything Dhoni stands for. And, Dhoni epitomizes the values CSK hold close to their chest.

Thus, there is a reason why Dhoni became the only cricketer over the age of 35 to have been retained before the 2022 IPL auction. It isn’t about the fights that this dog has fought historically. Instead, the fights that he still has left in him.

For other teams, it might not be a lot. Expecting your captain to win you a solitary game – that too at the risk of losing a few, isn’t the ideal way to go about things. Yet, this isn’t just any team nor is this just any individual.

This is Dhoni and his beloved CSK – a franchise that holds a special place in his heart and is almost synonymous with everything he has done. It wouldn’t be a stretch to suggest that Dhoni means more to the folks in Chennai than any cricketer means to anyone else in any other city in the country. And, he’s not even from Chennai.

As far as the critics are concerned, they will argue that cricket (let alone a tournament like the IPL) is hardly ever played on emotion. And, that this love story between Dhoni and CSK will also catch up sooner rather than later. They could be right too.

But the Dhoni-CSK association doesn’t pay much heed to conventional logic and wisdom. If anything, it feeds off the accusations of it making absolutely no sense.

Dhoni and CSK, especially at this juncture of the cricketer’s career seems quite wrong. So wrong that it must be right. At least, that’s what has happened at every stage of this Dhoni-CSK epic.