As Ranchi’s hero, former team India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni turned 38 the city left no stone unturned in showering love and affection to one of the all time greatest cricketers in world cricket on Sunday.
Around 50 budding cricketers from Ranchi cut a special cake for their hero, ‘Mahi’ at Harmu Ground, where Dhoni grew up playing cricket. Ravi Kumar, 14, a wicketkeeper and left-handed batsman, was busy perfecting the helicopter shot at the ground soon after the cake-cutting ceremony. “Mahi Bhaiya has given us hope and made us believe that even we can make it to the Indian cricket team. He is my idol, so this day is obviously a special day for me,” said Ravi.
Expressing his happiness on Dhoni’s birthday, his first coach Chanchal Bhattacharya said that he could not wish Dhoni on his birthday over phone as the legendary cricketer was busy practicing for the ongoing World Cup in England and did not carry his phone to the nets. “Mahi does not keep his phone with himself during practice sessions, but I wished him on his birthday from my heart,” said Bhattacharya.
While rumours about Dhoni’s retirement post the World Cup are doing the rounds on social media, Bhattacharya said that only Dhoni knows when he will retire and he will call it stumps for one last time at the right time. “People are criticising him for playing slow in the ongoing World Cup tournament. But they fail to realize that he adjusts his game depending on the situation. Had he tried to up the scoring rate during the match with Afghanistan, India might have fallen short by at least 50 runs or so. I think he is the best judge of his own performance and he will take the decision of retirement at the right time,” added Bhattacharya.
The highest governing body of Cricket, International Cricket Council (ICC) also paid tribute to Mahendra Singh Dhoni, applauding the World Cup winning captain for changing the face of Indian cricket.
Dhoni, who has won all cricketing accolades including captaining India to triumph at the 2011 ODI World Cup, 2007 T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy, still continues to hold the title of India’s most successful captain. On Sunday, videos of team India celebrating Dhoni’s birthday also went viral on social media.
In his 14 years of international cricketing career, Dhoni, has achieved everything one can possibly imagine, said Sandeep Singh, a budding cricketer from Ranchi. “It is unfair to compare him with any other cricketer of this generation. What he has done for Indian cricket is incomparable,” he said.