The sudden announcement of Mahendra Singh Dhoni's retirement from test cricket might have surprised many, but it was not entirely unexpected. The wicketkeeper-batsman was struggling with ideas, so essential in a mind game like cricket, especially on foreign tours. The thrashing faced by Dhoni's India against England and Australia only proved that his team was no longer the unchallenged leader in all forms of the game.
The retirement of MSD from test cricket is fuelled by his deep desire to concentrate on the shorter forms of the game. As the defending champion, he wants to lead India to the 2015 World Cup due in Australia and New Zealand. India is going to host the T20 World Cup in 2016 and it is perfectly natural on the part MSD to nurture the ambition of lifting the World Cup in two forms of the game (after 2011 World Cup) at home, and thereby avenge India's defeat against Sri Lanka in 2014.
So, it's a long way to go before the cricket commentators and observers of the game jot down a few points to write MSD's cricketing obituary and delve on his legacy in Indian Cricket.
As the skipper of the World Cup winning Indian cricket team Dhoni will always have a special place not only in India's cricketing history but also in the narrative of contemporary India. In fact, leading India to world cup victories in two forms of the game makes him even more special.
If Kapil Dev's India, by winning the 1983 World Cup, marked India's arrival at the centrestage of world cricket, and players like Sunil Gavaskar, Mohinder Amarnath and Dilip Vengsarkar did the groundwork for the consolidation of its position, then maestros like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and VVS Laxman are credited with stamping India's position of authority not only on the ground but also off the turf.
From that point of view, MSD's main task was cut out to sustain India's predominance in all forms of the game and take it even further. As arguably India's most successful cricket captain, at least statistically, MSD has succeeded in achieving his objective definitely in the shorter forms of the game. His test records are not as impressive, actually abysmal especially on foreign turfs.
These are feats which catch ones eye. But even before MSD touched the zenith in his remarkable journey in the world of cricket, he achieved something which transformed not only the face of India but also its texture.
All the names which shot into fame in Indian cricket are mostly urban phenomena, coming from metropolitan cities. Not that MSD was the first Indian cricketer from a small town to represent India in the highest form of the game, but he undoubtedly manifested a sense of assertion, not only as a leader but also as an actor in the cricketing play, hitherto unseen outside the confines of bigger cities. In that sense, MSD marks the fruition of a new India that goes beyond the realm of the urban space.
MSD's elevation as the captain of the Indian side has inspired many in smaller towns, suburbs and even villages to dream big. Not that all of them flocked to cricket but some of them definitely embarked on remarkable journeys to shape their ambition and fulfill personal aspirations to grow much beyond the place they come from.
The rise of cricketers like Umesh Yadav and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar , and the launch of Indian Grameen Cricket League (IGCL) are ample indicators that there is enough appetite for the game in the rural heartland of India. People coming from modest backgrounds are not daunted by the fact that cricket is essentially an expensive game and that the youth are inspired by India being the powerhouse of world cricket. The use of cricket as a tool to fulfill aspiration is not only ensuring equity but also manifesting itself as a form of empowerment.
The gentleman's game which once defined social hierarchy is now being cherished by the ordinary, and even the subaltern, to break through the class consciousness of the society.
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Tirthankar Bandyopadhyay is a journalist and media commentator.
He can be contacted at tirthankarb@hotmail.com
All comments are personal.
