Well as promised, I return for my second post.Albeit late, but better late than never. There has been too much going around saying - "Indian cricket should do this, Indian cricket should do that". I too thought of pondering over it, but felt it's better to enjoy the sport as I have done over the past 2 decades than worry about such things. If things improve, then nothing better...else it was just meant to be that way..cannot do much indeed..
Disclaimer :
Too much of dirty stuff gets written about Cricket and Politics in India. When it comes to the former, sometimes it is not worth it. Because it is more often than not, baseless..Hence just pouring down my thoughts one of those stuff. All the thoughts written below are purely personal.
Open Letter:
He has been one man who has copped so much from all corners in the past 7-8 months for the Indian team's failure..The captain - Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Now then, he is never in the good books of so many connoisseurs of the game, similar to how many connoisseurs of tennis give Roger Federer that much more respect in comparison to Rafael Nadal. Well yes...those two are completely different sports, and should never be compared. My mention of tennis here is just incidental and not intentional.
That flowing mane we had in 2005, when he walked with his bat akin to a rapier, is now no more. But the athlete he was still remains. I find it a bit preposterous when people say MSD is a lucky guy and only luck has got him to where he has been to. Well I ask them...if luck alone had a say, he could have sat in the pavilion as non-playing captain and yet India could have won the world cup isn't it ? Why take the effort to go out there and play ? Agreed that luck plays an important role in every human being's life. But purely luck and only luck ?? Ridiculous I say !!
There are so many people who sit there in their cosy living rooms and say this guy MSD does not deserve to get the accolades he has got. Well then, get up from your sofas or chairs and go and play out there....Cricket is an easy game to play as said by millions of Indians. There are so many people who say they can bat this way, bowl this way, bowl that way....But what stands out finally is mental strength and ability to deal with pressure. Not for nothing does the golden generation of Indian cricket stand out...its only for their mental strength in comparison to the so many people who feel, they can go out and play for India.
You simply cannot win matches just like that continuously for 5-6 years with only luck..or so it is said by those self-proclaimed 'pundits' of the game, who report in the media just for the heck of it ! And yes..we also have those 'N' million people who write on social networking sites and think MS Dhoni is only as good as them, or even worse.
Yes..he has his own limitations, he is not naturally as talented a cricketer, he has a flawed technique as well....But then he was never one since he began to play for India. He was always that swashbuckling, flamboyant cricketer and yet never made any attempt to show off that he is one the best ever cricketers talent wise !
For the matter of fact, just have a look at his record... OK, if numbers do not matter, can anyone just pin point a single cricketer who has finished matches in ODI cricket for India the way he has done ? Or for the matter of fact a wicket keeper in world cricket ? Only Adam Gilchrist stands apart..and you get a Gilchrist only once in a lifetime. People said "Ahh..here is another guy who is trying to be like Gilly..he will never succeed"....those people now are finding reasons after reasons to cover up..and pathetic ones at that !
Now people even find issues with the way he chases down scores...Just refresh your memory, go back to the 90's..any ODI game involving India that would enter a tense finish, would more often than not result in an Indian defeat ! Yes he makes mistakes sometimes, but it is always a team game...don't the other players also need to step up ? When India had only Yuvraj Singh and Rahul Dravid trying to shore up the middle order and finish games for India, Dhoni put his hand up and said he would take over the baton...In the hindsight, one can say that one of the very few things that happened for India's good in the Greg Chappell regime was the evolution of Dhoni as a finisher.
And yes..people also have issues with the way he speaks at press conferences or post match presentations. Well I cannot remember any Indian captain openly saying that he is the main culprit to be blamed. Truly, he said that to shut the media up. Once he said he is to be blamed, what can the bewildered media - who were looking for controversial remarks - say ?
Well my point here is only that, why crib when he is winning ODI games for India ? That he deserves to be captain or not in test cricket is a different point of contention. But people now are of the opinion that Dhoni simply does not deserve what he gets...Now this meaningless Dhoni bashing attains humongous proportions when I read about folks who say that even his captaincy is questionable. He backs XYZ player in the team and does not consider some ABC player. If that was indeed the case, then what do you say about regionalism and favoritism that exists in the world around you ? Everyone would be doing that in some way or the other...intentionally or unintentionally...but finally end up finding faults with others..and in this case with MS Dhoni.
Oh yeah by the way..I forgot that Sourav Ganguly too was given the same treatment during his captaincy days...and those people were not aware that the very bane of Indian cricket called regionalism was broken down by him..And Dravid, Kumble and now even Dhoni have tried to take it forward, than go back to the 90's selection methods !!
He may not be elegant, but is effective. His style may not be an eye-catcher, but makes one watch in awe. He keeps things simple and that is what stands out. To all those who envy MS Dhoni, my sincere request is.."Wake-up..open your eyes..if you can prove and be better just by one single factor of what he has done, then kudos to you.." !! Else try and learn to appreciate the fact that he is at least better than you, if not anyone else !! :)
Till next time...enjoy life... :)
