The Standpoint

End of a fairy tale

By

Abhishek Mukherjee

“It helps me keep in touch, and makes me feel like man of the match,” is what MS Dhoni confesses in an advertisement on television, referring to services of a cellular provider. Ironically, his performances on the field are nowadays never worthy of a ‘man of the match’ award. For a couple of years no one has questioned his outrageousness or lack of form – it was after all he who had elevated the Indian team to such great heights as the world champions and winners of the bilateral series in Australia. During his tenure as the captain till this shameful debacle a few days ago, it was astonishing to realise that he got away with each and every decision that he took. In other words he had an amazing foresight.

Many would agree that he had to fall someday, and hard. Call it overconfidence, fatigue, lack of motivation or team spirit, or a combination of all of them, the Indian team right since its warm-up match against New Zealand never looked like a side hungry to win. It appeared a congregation of world-class players who tried to save their reputations more than anything else, while trying to ease the pressure off themselves as the defending champions.

The attitude was a stark contrast to that of the underdogs they were in the inaugural edition of World T20 two years ago. The largely unknown Indian team then without any of its famous stars played fearlessly, and with right positiveness and aggression. Dhoni utilised his opportunity to take charge of the team to perfection, as every team member gave it his all. New stars were born in the likes of Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa, and there were others like Sehwag who made the best use of this chance to get back into reckoning. It all started with the bowl-out victory against Pakistan – a game that we miraculously seized from them. It provided the side a boost which proved a catalyst in our ultimate triumph.

Dhoni’s fairy tale started from there. He began taking bold decisions which invariably always paid off. Indeed the whole of India was awed by the man with the ‘Midas touch’. He was said to be unruffled at all situations, a thinker who could foresee like no other. He led the Indian side to victory in two straight finals against the Aussies in the bilateral 50-over competition in their own backyard, as if it was no big deal. Such a sensation he had become that Chennai Super Kings had to shell out six crores – more than for any other cricketer by any other franchise - to pouch him in the auction for the Indian Premier League.

He had the nerve of opting out of the test series against Sri Lanka last year, citing fatigue for having played ‘too much cricket’ as the reason. When the BCCI announces the side for any upcoming series, each selected member of the squad is supposed to honour and justify his selection, as there are numerous aspirants who are left fuming, and who would desperately want to be selected and prove their worth. Needless to say, it was a slap on BCCI’s cheek, who on their part decided to remain quiet and in fact respect our wonder boy’s decision.

He returned to captain the Indian side in the one-dayers that followed, and India won once again. Later in the year, Dhoni led his side to a convincing series victory against Australia at home, a series which saw Kumble and a hurt Sourav Ganguly playing their last for India. New faces filled up the ranks and coast was clear for him – there would be no one whose ego he would have to handle, who could question his decisions or who could challenge his supremacy in the near future.

During all those tough series against the top cricketing nations in the world, Dhoni was said to have brought to the team the aura of invincibility. Though his form with the bat faded gradually, the team kept performing and delivering the goods. He started appearing in too many advertisements on television, and even devoted sufficient time for modelling. He conjured up enough cheek to dishonour the national awards by being absent during the award ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan earlier this year, for reportedly commercial priorities. Yet his aura did not fade, and his brethren at Ranchi continued to religiously worship their favourite deity

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Even when his attitude came under the scanner quite a number of times, his ‘cool’ behaviour and team’s outstanding performances always bailed him out.

Not this time, however. As India lost to an exuberant England by 3 runs, his critics finally found their voices.

Many tactical mistakes and disastrous judgments in crucial moments came to the fore. The altering of Yuvraj’s batting number, the promotion of Jadeja to the top order in the game against England and the dropping of Ojha in crunch matches were baffling decisions and lacked logic. In the game against the Windies, he scored an 11 ball 23, slow even by Test standards. Rumours about strife between Sehwag and himself saw him lose his cool in front of the media at the start of the tournament, which did not exactly prove a good omen. Everything seemed to be falling apart for him.

More than the strategic mistakes however, it was the body language that was unbearable to watch. Nothing could have been more painful for the Indian supporter than to witness the casualness and lack of intensity among the so-called ‘superstars’. It was evident that this status that they enjoyed proved to be fatal. The defeat and exit from the World Cup only brought them, led by our ‘Captain Cool’, falling to the earth.

Dhoni must have realised by now that no one can be bigger than the game. India has infinite cricketing talent. If needed, Dhoni can be replaced by any new face, who may prove to be better than him. As we hope for a transformation in outlook from the person, it is times like these that we realise the value of greats like Kumble or a Gilchrist – purely because of their approach towards their game, and respect for their country.