The movie ‘M. S. Dhoni: The Untold Story’ – based on the pages of the legendary sportsperson’s life until 2011 Cricket World Cup’s final – heeds more on the bed of roses with a slight glimpse of the thorns. In other words, the movie emanates more positivity. Now, on having read the Cricket writer Bharat Sundaresan’s ‘THE DHONI TOUCH’, I once again feel so. It’s not just the Dhoni factor behind such enablement but also the commendable jobs by the creators in coming up with their respective works.
Unlike the movie, which is a biopic of Dhoni’s life, the book unravels the enigma – as its tagline remarks – that the legendary cricketer is. The author has put in significant effort in culling extensive information, predominantly from primary sources such as Dhoni’s long-standing friends, coach, colleagues, etc. By extension, on a lighter note, it appears like Bharat Sundaresan has chronicled an illustration for each adjective that one would throw up to boil down the kind of cricketer or person Dhoni is. The illustrations testify how innate Dhoni’s traits have been, which make up the man whom many admire.
Excellent examples on Dhoni going the extra mile to get his way:
There are various instances in Cricket matches that remain a testimony to Dhoni‘s willingness to go the extra mile in pursuit of the task at hand. The book records numerous off-field incidents, which demonstrate the same and are unavailable to the public. For instance, there is a scenario evidencing the prudence of Dhoni, the kid.
Dhoni was then simultaneously part of the teams of his school and Central Coal Limited (CCL). The teams had matches on the same day and the cricketer was expected to be part of both. Neither the school team’s coach nor the CCL‘s secretary was ready to leave him out. So, Dhoni came up with a very surprising suggestion to resolve the tug of war. He told that he could play for CCL if the school match gets postponed by a day. When the coach cautioned him about the hot playing conditions, which he needs to endure for two days, he came up with another astonishing reply that he could play even for three days.
This is some really unexpected stuff!
Conducting oneself:
In the second leg of the 2021 Indian Premier League, I noticed a worn-out Dhoni walking up to the pavilion after the game and then turning up well-decked and fresh to the presentation ceremony. He also used to wear a wristwatch that I hadn’t seen on him while playing. This happened match after match, irrespective of their result or the toughness they demanded. This is one of the primary qualities I like in Dhoni i.e. the way in which he conducts himself. These aspects aren’t restricted to just the on-field appearances but to his public appearances as a whole. It can be the manner he walks, sits, gestures, manages eye contact, smiles, or grins. Everything appears so measured like the eloquence in his articulations.
In the book’s 10th chapter ‘The Man Emerges’, late cricketer V.B. Chandrasekhar has imparted incidents on Dhoni‘s ability to conduct himself well, right from his rookie days. They are quite a good deal of information from an insider’s perspective and inspiring. It is also equally inspiring to get to know that Dhoni guides and helps his team to conduct themselves. An incident mentioned in the 7th chapter ‘A Captain Comes into His Own’ stands testimony to his leadership. In fact, a sports website’s article featured the incident’s extract that had urged me to buy ‘THE DHONI TOUCH’.
It was in February 2008 in the Commonwealth Bank Series at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). It was when Australians were at their indomitable best. It was when the Ricky Ponting-led Australian team believed that every loss of theirs was an ‘upset’ and not just a win for their opponent. It was only the fifteenth One Day International (ODI) match as captain for Dhoni. And it was when Indian pacers picked nine wickets between them and bowled out Australia for a paltry 159.
Dhoni and Rohit were in the middle chasing down the total. The skipper sent the message, “Nobody will celebrate on the balcony once we win this match” to the pavilion and passed on the instruction, “When they give their hand, just firmly hold yours out without folding it like an obligation, but don’t overdo it. And just stare blankly at them without any hint of excitement.” to Rohit. All he wanted to convey to the Australian team was that India‘s victory in their own backyard is no fluke. It is no upset. And it is going to happen again and again. It appears like the Aussies couldn’t handle India’s victory and it really shook them.
And here is my personal experience when I visited M.A. Chidambaram Stadium at Chepauk in Chennai for an Indian Premier League (IPL) match between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI). CSK was chasing with Dhoni at the batting end and Trinidadian cricketer Kieron Pollard was the bowler. Since Dhoni‘s wicket was crucial at that point in time, Pollard availed his go-to weapon, which he regularly used then. Run-up to the crease and then stop bowling suddenly as though you have been distracted for reasons unknown. Thereby, you think you spoiled the rhythm of the batsman who is waiting to face the delivery. Since Dhoni was at the batting end, he gave back in his very own style. When Pollard was about to bowl the very next ball following the run-up, Dhoni pretended to be distracted at the very last moment, which ended up with a rousing reception from the audience. Dhoni departed after a while and eventually, CSK lost the match. But, the moment is worth remembering for years to come!
Fascinating peeks into analogies and parallels here and there:
The author’s account isn’t just confined to putting down the information, which he has gathered but also in bringing up surprising analogies and drawing interesting parallels in various places. Well, to name a fascinating few, in the 6th chapter ‘The Mahi Way’, the parallel drawn between Dhoni and Sherlock Holmes and in the 8th chapter ‘Pythagoras behind the Stumps’, the analogy put forward to describe the kind of wicket-keeper the cricketer is. These are one of the high points of the book.
Let me brief on the parallel drawn between Dhoni and Sherlock Holmes in ‘The Mahi Way’.
Dhoni had once shocked his good friend Col Shankar by asking him who Sunita Williams and Patrick Patterson are. By quizzing so, he had meant no disrespect towards the legendary personalities. It is only that his complete ignorance seems to be because of him being a person who doesn’t bother much about anything that doesn’t affect him. This is where Bharat Sundaresan draws a very interesting parallel between Dhoni and Sherlock Holmes. Dr. John Watson, Sherlock Holmes‘s friend in Arthur Conan Doyle‘s novel, is very surprised by his bud being ignorant of famous philosophers, theories, the fact about earth traveling around the sun, and the constitution of the solar system. Bharat equates Dr. John Watson‘s astonishment to that of Col Shankar and then mentions Holmes‘s famous theory about the mind being an ’empty attic’ with no ‘elastic walls’ as below…
“A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across, so that the knowledge which might be useful to him gets crowded out, or best is jumbled up with a lot of other things…for every addition of knowledge you forget something that you knew before. It is of the highest importance, therefore, not to have useless facts elbowing out the useful ones.”
A brilliant correlation indeed!
Intriguing lessons, worth inspiring budding cricketers:
From the person who has marketed brilliancy in captainship at international and highly competitive club crickets, game-changing moments, nimble-minded and lightning-quick wicket-keeping skills, and the like, it’s not surprising to know him being good at marketing himself.
The book conveys not just the process, which went behind in the sporting front in the build-up to Dhoni becoming a legendary cricketer but also reveals information on the proliferation of his brand value in the commercial arena. For instance, in the 9th chapter, ‘Thala’ (‘Thala’ in the Tamil language refers to ‘Leader’) deals exclusively with the inside information related to the nurturing of the brand, ‘Dhoni’ aka ‘Thala’. The boom the Dhoni era has introduced on what a talented, and more importantly, a smart cricketer could earn, is something remarkable. The smartness and the seamless focus, which he continues to possess are intriguing and worth inspiring budding cricketers.
Recount on Dhoni’s interests, apart from Cricket:
Dhoni‘s interests, apart from Cricket, have as well been widely recounted in the book. For example, in addition to featuring (as MS Dhoni himself) in the below McDowell’s No.1 soda spot – created by the Gurugram-based ad agency DDB Mudra South & East – the book states on the cricketer to have taken care of its scriptwriting too. Alongside Dhoni, the feel-good video features his childhood Buddies, Chittu (Seemant Lohani), and Chottu Bhaiyya (Paramjit Singh), who are among the primary sources of information for the book.
Also, Dhoni‘s profound interest in armed forces is widely known. In ‘THE DHONI TOUCH’, you get to know how the cricketer found time to appease his desire in upgrading his credential as an honorary Lt Col in the Territorial Army. The 5th chapter ‘The Fauji Captain’ exclusively showcases Dhoni‘s love for the armed forces.
Here is an instance from the chapter.
Dhoni had wished to qualify for parachute wings and thereby, obtain a badge with blue wings and an umbrella. To qualify, he was supposed to complete five parachute jumps from a military aircraft, including one at night, from around 15,000 feet. So, Dhoni underwent rigorous two weeks of training in Paratroopers Trainings School (PTS). After completing training, he performed five para jumps and obtained the badge, which even many of his soldier friends hadn’t completed.
Below is a video showing Dhoni doing his first para jump from the military transport aircraft ‘An-32‘…
To have been able to become a legendary cricketer by making wicket keeping and captaincy the primary reasons to admire him in a nation, which celebrates relatively more of batsmanship, is no mean feat. His contributions behind the wicket have created a legacy. Australian wicketkeeper Mathew Wade‘s popular jest, “I’m not Dhoni” after he so very nearly had a stumping to dismiss Indian cricketer Shikhar Dhawan deserves a mention here. To say impressive is least to describe his achievement in bringing to the country all the available International Cricket Council (ICC) trophies during his stint on the national side.
To have read a book on the cricketer, which markets itself to unravel the enigma that is him, is such a delight!
And to find it unfolding information and analysis in a very interesting manner is so satisfying!
The book, which takes us through the many phases of Dhoni, right from his early days in Ranchi, concludes with the below compelling line that sums up the legend’s era…
“He’s also ensured that Indian cricket will never be the same again,
not after it has felt the Dhoni Touch.”
SO TRUE!
Book available in the below link…
Featured image courtesy: mid-day