Dhoni the modern day cricket's biggest icon but with some mystiques

[Sujithmb13]

. The  year was 2013 Indians went to the West Indies and won a thriller  with Dhoni scoring six,four and six in the last over  against Srilanka to win by 1 wicket  .Eranga was bewitched by MSD.The world went ga ga over Dhoni .

 For last few years, the fact that Dhoni is the greatest finisher  ever  has simply been taken as gospel. Despite the emergence of more recent challengers in Virat Kohli, ABD or Faulkner, Dhoni remains the reference point against which all are judged. Those who played with or against him, from Matthew Hayden to  Virat Kohli, queued up to anoint him as the greatest finisher.To be fair there is a good deal of stat in his favour averaging above 100 while chasing and has an overall career average  above 50.
 
 In 2004, he forced his way into the side halfway through as a 23-year-old long haired boy, scoring 140 odd against Pakistan and 183 against Srilanka in 2005. Lightening quick between the wickets,immense poise,impressive power and gigantic sixes were all on display.At the very least, there is enough evidence to conclude that Dhoni was not simply a Pollard/Afridi with a brain. He really was astoundingly good batsman in limited overs cricket. Then there is his captaincy record. Three Icc tournament victories in 2007,2011 and 2013. Two Ipls with Csk etc etc.

 In hindsight, 2007t20 WC win, coming so soon after the disaster of 2007 icc wc, came to be seen as the turning point for an emerging, confident nation.The young, Dhoni assumed the face of this new India.It was a marvelous tale, and Dhoni fitted perfectly into it.There is another factor to consider: The 2007 World Cup was the first t20wc and it was Dhoni’s great fortune to emerge just as mass media was catalysing an unprecedented explosion in the global scale of the game.Following the T20 World Cup, lucrative offers had flooded in from all parts.It was the beginning of what one might describe as the MSD brand. The story of the guy from humble background conquering the world is, essentially, what these companies are buying into.
 
 But even as you list Dhoni’s achievements, it is possible to pick holes in them.Though he averaged above 100 while chasing ,he had minimal contribution while chasing a score above 300.He is a player who rarely botch up achievable target but he never had played a Kohli adealide kind of knock . His World Cup record, while impressive with an all important match winning 91 against Srilanka in 2011 final, is suceptible to overstatement. He  won two World Cups, and was not the outstanding player either time. In 2007, it was Yuvraj and Gambhir who won India 3 big matches(super 6,SF and Final)  while in 2011, it was very much a team effort, with the likes of Yuvi,Gambhir,Sachin and Zaheer at least as important. Dhoni’s home country has long been aware of this. Ask the Indians who won them the world cup and you are as likely to hear Gambhir or Yuvi or Sachin mentioned.There is a sense that Dhoni belongs more to global heritage than he does to India.He is an international reference point, and one who is simple to understand: a  man from humble background who became the best captain(atleast in lois) in the world through dedication and skill. But Indians do not love him the way they love Sachin.There is a proto-messianism to Dhoni’s -image, especially when some feel he is not being sufficiently revered. What is interesting about Dhoni’s exaltation was how much of it was done in retrospect. Contemporary reports of the 2011 clearly give credits to Dhoni, but reserve most praise for Yuvraj, the most flamboyant player on the pitch.

 Contrary to many impressions, Yuvraj and Dhoni were not enemies but close pals. They were just different. The differences between them could scarcely have been more pronounced. Yuvraj argued with the establishment. Dhoni became the establishment.

But many Indians will tell you that Yuvraj was at least as good as Dhoni, if not better. Dhoni would hit a  six  with all the raw power. Yuvraj would do it with a touch of artestry. Yuvraj virtually won the 2011 World Cup being the player of the tournament . Dhoni could never claim that.

But the one thing Yuvraj was less good at was consistency. Yuvraj had little time for building a career with impeccable record and consistency. He hardly ever did it except for a period of 4 years(2005-2009). He never stayed in the public eye for long enough to develop a persona. What he wanted to do, above all else, is to live the life to the fullest like a typical punjabi  before being affected by Cancer.Years later  Yograj took Potshots at Dhoni for Yuvi's dwindling career.In truth, there was little anybody could have done to arrest Yuvraj’s decline.But here’s the point. There’s a reason why Sachin and Dhoni are always discussed as the two greatest pillars of India's odi team , and Yuvraj isn’t even in the conversation. Yuvraj is not around to state his case. Perhaps it’s time to admit that greatness is two parts genius to one part consistency.
 And in retrospect, it’s easy to see why the generation that grew up with Dhoni was so keen to put him on a pedestal. Of course he was a brilliant player, but maybe there’s something more sinister at work there too. Perhaps in half a decade from now, Dhoni’s  will be an honorary  cricketer in the hall of fame, and the cricket enthusiasts will be embroiled in a similarly tedious debate about the relative merits of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Every generation ultimately remakes its own truth.