Dhoni quits leadership, cements iconic status
Captain Cool has finally snapped all links to leadership of the Indian cricket team. MS Dhoni, arguably Indian cricket's most successful captain, on Wednesday abruptly announced his decision not to helm the one-day and the T-20 sides. Months ago, he had suddenly given up the captaincy of the Test team and Virat Kohli took his place. It now appears that Kohli will now fill the shorter format space too. Of course it's not time yet to deal with Dhoni as a has-been; he has made his availability clear to the selectors, should they consider him for the side. It is unimaginable at this point in time that he will be overlooked for selection, and so we can expect to see more of him — and hopefully there will be glimpses of the old Dhoni who mesmerised the world of cricket and traumatised rival bowlers. The unflappable cricketer had been a true champion who led by example. Statistics speak for themselves. Of the 199 one-day internationals he captained, India won 110; in those he averaged close to 54 runs. In the T-20 format he led, the team won 41 of the 72 matches it played. That makes it an enviable 59 per cent plus success rate. There were few occasions when any player could turn around and blame him for preaching without practising. While it's debatable whether his best is now the past and only vestiges of greatness remain, there is no doubting that his decision to quit the captaincy has come at the right moment in the sense that the Indian team today is, as somebody pointed out, Virat Kohli's team. Dhoni perhaps believed that it was becoming a tad uncomfortable for him to lead such a team with Kohli in the midst. Dhoni's decision is also a salute to Kohli's talent and his rise over the last couple of years especially. And while Kohli has blazed success, it remains to be seen if he can in the years to come develop into an iconic figure like Dhoni. Whatever Kohli achieves, he cannot at least seek proprietary over the ‘helicopter-shot'!
We are too quick to bestow rare honours based on a few sterling performances. Thus, Kohli is already being talked of as the next Tendulkar or even the next Vivian Richards. Funnily, while we talk of Tendulkar as the benchmark, we tend to forget other genuine greats such as Sunil Gavaskar; the Master Blaster is revered but the little Master is not spoken of as an inspiration even. Perhaps this has to do with the changing times and the fact that the present-day generation has soaked in more of Tendulkar than Gavaskar. Be that as it may, there is no denying the fact that Gavaskar remains an all-time great who, as an opener, faced the world's more fearsome pacers without even donning a helmet, on the world's fastest pitches. Dhoni certainly makes it to this list of legends, not just for batting prowess but for also his nimble-footed wicket-keeping and, most importantly, his leadership skills. There were recent instances when his judgement came into question, but they are but a blip in his illustrious career.