by Arunabha Sengupta
Summer 2014. The indoor practice nets of Ageas Bowl. The designated spot for press conferences.
The thrilling Lord’s Test had been won through a counter-intuitive short-pitched barrage on the final afternoon, unleashed by Ishant Sharma, goaded by captain MS Dhoni.
Almost all the ‘experts’ had fumed at the tactics—hundreds of ex-cricketers clinging on to their own respective windows of time, thousands of journalists with their rich experiences of backyard cricket, millions of fans with their miraculous grasp of the situation through hasty glances at ALT+TAB-bed website commentary.
The Indian on-field captain had remained unrelenting, Ishant had continued to bowl short, from what Michael Holding had kept insisting was the wrong end based on his 1976-84 memories. The result had been seven wickets for Ishant and a famous win for India.
But during the pre-match press conference at Ageas Bowl, MS Dhoni was seething.
The Jadeja-Anderson altercation had started at Trent Bridge and had escalated into serious bad blood. The verdict at that stage had seemed too harsh against Jadeja. The Indian team had not really been amused. It was one of the rare press conferences when Dhoni was not his unflappable, nonchalant self. He looked angry. He voiced his displeasure.
But, this piece is not about that. It is about what happened after the conference.
There was uncertainty regarding the exact time of the press conference, as is often the case with Indian teams. Unless you can laugh at the face of time, you don’t bag the job of media manager for an Indian cricket team.
Most of the journalists were present. However, two from of a premier cricket publication had been misinformed. They were late.
Dhoni’s statements had a sensational element to it. Hence, no one really wanted to miss out. When the missing journalists arrived and got wind of what had happened, they got hold of Dhoni as he was stepping out. They wanted him to repeat what he had said.
Now, the conversation took place in the lounge just outside the indoor net facilities. There was no one but Dhoni, the media manager and the said reporters of this concern, a publication that is quite a monolith in the cricket world. I was a few yards behind them, but they could not see me due to the turn in the corridor. Most of the other reporters had already started on their long walk to the media centre to file their reports, some tarried in the indoor net facility, keying in their pieces there.
In my experience, many international cricketers generally go out of their way to indulge this particular cricket publication. The eyeballs they get lend lots of weight to their articles. And the issue was sensitive enough for MS Dhoni to extend a favour and ensure a sympathetic piece, if only to influence world opinion about what had become a simmering topic.
But MSD’s answer was surprising. “If I tell you separately, it won’t be fair to the rest of the journalists. Could you please take the details from the video recording that was made? I believe the guy operating the video camera is still in there.”
Again, I was not yet in their zone of vision. They had no way of knowing they were not alone. Dhoni could very easily have relented, and made use of the situation. He didn’t.
It is a personal experience. I generally don’t share personal experiences. However, this one was special.
There are so many speculations about MS Dhoni. Mainly because he treats the press with a sort of lackadaisical irreverence. He does not show emotion. To the Indian masses brought up on sound and fury in every domain, he is difficult to make sense of. It is not easy to crack that shell of curious placidity and take a look into the person.
But, since that day I do know that in there is ingrained a sense of fairness. Fairness that he can even extend to the same media-brigade towards whom his attitude comes across as one of amused aloofness.
India lost the plot and stamina half-way, and thereby the series. They were not used to playing 5 five-day matches on the trot. None of the team had played a 5-Test series before that.
Of course, Dhoni was the one who had to bear the brunt of criticism.
However, for all the shortcomings of his self-taught technique, abysmally unsuited to England, he managed 349 runs at 34.90, second on the Indian batting charts after Murali Vijay.
Yes, ahead of Rahane, Pujara, Kohli and the rest of them.
Not that it stopped people from continuing to state that he could not bat in England.
There is hardly anything new about that. Criticism and praise in India are almost always second-hand, derived, our minds made up for us by media factions, brand wars and often-parochial group-think. And confirmation bias.
We abhor looking at data (scientifically, not anecdotally) and deciding for ourselves.
There is nothing new to say about the cricketer either. His records in all forms of the game are there for perusal. His ODI stature is well known. A lot of records in Test matches are ignored, often because they jar with general perceptions.
I will share just one.
He led India in 60 of his 90 Tests. The next best for a wicket-keeper captain is 28 by Mushfiqur Rahim.
Tim Paine is next with 19. Gerry Alexander 18.
Three of the top four names are modern. It was almost never done in the old days other than rare Blackham-Sherwell exceptions.
.The numbers are so low because keeping and leading is a darned difficult combination in Test cricket.
It is difficult to understand that if you go by Dhoni’s facial expression. But a quick perusal of his time-lapse photographs will show how the incredible load turns one grey. Prematurely grey.
He is one of the greatest cricketers to have played for India.
However, my lasting impression is of the man into whose mind I could peek unnoticed … and detect in there a sense of fairness and integrity.
MS Dhoni was born on 7 July 1981.