Around the same time as Virat Kohli’s young side were celebrating India’s first series win in Sri Lanka in 22 years, a news item on ‘MSD’ caught my attention. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, one of the most sought-after personalities in Indian cricket not so long ago, was engaged in a most unlikely assignment — playing guest of honour at the inauguration of a temple in the US.
Nothing wrong with it really, as the captain of India’s team in limited overs matches is certainly entitled to some quality time with the family after more than a decade of living out of a suitcase. Here’s somebody who had to wait for more than two-and-a-half months to have a first look at his new-born daughter because of the ongoing tour of Australia earlier this year, not to speak of the fact his non-stop involvement in all formats of the game hardly offered him any breather all these years.
However, it does feel unusual — almost surreal — to digest a scenario where the most successful captain of India (statiscally) is trying to come to terms with life in ‘selective retirement’. It had been Dhoni’s calling the moment he abruptly decided to call time on his Test career during the Australian tour, but the dasher from Jharkhand must have realised that the generation gap with the rest of the team had finally begun to catch up with him.
It’s time to ponder that dreaded question then: is MSD gradually becoming irrelevant in the Indian dressing room? Any such direct question at this point will never elicit an honest reply — more so from the Dhoni loyalists in the team — but a pragmatic person like him has clearly seen the writing on the wall.
While Dhoni has gone on record saying that he would take stock about his future after the Twenty20 World Cup next year, there is often more than a cricketing logic that isolates the senior pros in the changing landscape of a dressing room. The generation gap is something acknowledged by legends of the game like Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and even Sachin Tendulkar — and it could well be the same with Dhoni when he steps in there from time to time now.
There is no denying he still wields tremendous clout as a cricketer, with his calm head and finishing abilities, but the problem of plenty in Indian talent reserves — read Robin Uthappa, Wriddhiman Saha and Naman Ojha — will continue to push Dhoni.
The instant success of Virat Kohli as the leader in Sri Lanka can also make the situation a little hot under the collar for Dhoni — so what if he has won every conceivable limited overs honour for India in the past? Any slip by the Indian team in the ODIs at home against South Africa next month may see the backers of the Kohli brand of leadership upping the ante for a change there as well.
The next few months could then be defining ones in the career of one of the most iconic leaders in Indian cricket.
