Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s silence
has intrigued us, piqued us. The match fixing allegations in the IPL, his
association with some big shots, stake in Rhiti sports, India Cements and other
firms – we’ve become increasingly inquisitive about the off-field life of
arguably India’s most prolific cricket captain. After all, Indian cricket fans
deserve answers, right? Answers to questions about how he is making money;
whether he was indeed involved in match fixing during the IPL... the media and
common man want his silence broken. We deserve answers, right? Do we?
Dhoni has always maintained a low
profile in front of the media, be it his private life or on field strategies. He
has channelized his energy towards more productive aspects – like having a
major say in the team’s selection, motivating his player and developing a
messianic sense of purpose in them, and chalking out elaborate game plans to
surprise opponents. Ever wondered why his seemingly lucky moves pay off
brilliantly? Those ‘lucky’ gambles have been thought through in his head over
and over again. Leaders make Plans A and B. Dhoni says “I don’t stop at just
plan B. I go on to make plans C, D and E.” True mastermind. Real genius. And
the best finisher in cricket today.
MSD is the only captain to have won
every tournament which has the ICC label. He has marshalled his troops to
victory in Australia, England, Pakistan, West Indies, Sri Lanka, South Africa –
everywhere. Yuvraj, Gambhir, Ashwin, Jadeja, the Sharmas, Dhawan, Raina, Kohli,
Shami, Bhuvaneshvar Kumar and others have flourished under his wings. They’re
all match winners on their own.
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| Why is Dhoni's silence so important? |
And yet we choose to dismiss all
that. We chastise his money making methods through business. We accuse him of
being guilty because, as always, he has maintained a stoic silence on the match
fixing allegations. Does his being silent indicate he is guilty? And what is
wrong in him using his genius mind in business to make money? Is it wrong to
insure your future? Have we also forgotten that we have never demanded that Sonia
and Rahul Gandhi come clean on terrible allegations made against them? Why this
appalling treatment towards Dhoni?
As a country which loves cricket,
our job is to support the Indian Cricket Team. That is the logical thing to do.
But it’s well known how good we Indians are at applying logic. This unity in diversity hogwash has fucked things up for us. We care more about a player’s
performance in the IPL (for our cities) than his performance at the
international level. That’s why we swarm to stadiums in herds to watch the IPL.
We abuse them if they underperform in these inconsequential matches. And if
they perform well but are exhausted due to the gruelling schedule, we accuse them
of caring only about money. Yes, we Indians are really smart indeed!
The media and common man should
rally around Dhoni and his boys to win the World T20 championship right now.
Calling for the captain’s head while he carries the expectations of 100 crore
Indians is nothing short of retarded. It’s a shame that we accuse him without
proof while he marches on to conquer let another milestone for us. It’s time to
ensure that the most important thing is to let the important things stay
important and to stop sweating about matters of no consequence. The IPL is
nothing but a money making scheme for some people. Dhoni hasn't been bought by
us neither do we pay him a salary. He has made the Indian cricket team one of
the most powerful forces to reckon with in the world today. He owes us nothing.
Not the truth, not the lies and definitely not the finer aspects of his life.
So please go and find yourselves something else to rant about. Like maybe who
should be in the next Big Boss episode, who’s performance was awesome at some
Cine Star awards, etc. And if you can’t appreciate Dhoni’s talent, at least
leave him alone.
image Courtesy: Google Images
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