Dhoni's Silence - Why We Must Care!

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.

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