MS Dhoni once decided to visit an army unit. He reached there without anyone knowing of his arrival. The personnel present there stood in shock. He met everyone, greeted them, and had a nice little conversation.
But why would a man like Dhoni go and meet an army unit without announcing his arrival beforehand? His reason, unlike the man himself, was pretty simple. If he notified his appearance, the high-ranking army officers would gather together, call their friends, relatives and all of that stuff.
Dhoni, being the man he is, didn’t want that kind of a meeting. He wanted to meet the men on the ground. He wanted to meet soldiers who stood and guarded all day. Whether on the field or off it, the legacy of MS is beyond numbers, glitz and glamour.
His legacy lies in his humbleness, in his unpredictability, and in his cool yet aggressive mindset.
Over the next decade or so, the world will witness the rise and rise of swashbuckling, attacking, and fearless wicketkeepers. The likes of Rishabh Pant, Jos Buttler, Quinton de Kock, and Jonny Bairstow will shatter and create record after record. But, will there be another MS Dhoni?
Will there be someone who’ll finish games for fun? Will there be someone who’ll give India its next Virat Kohli? Its the next Hitman opener? Will there be someone who’ll have an eye for talents like Jadeja and Ashwin? Will there be someone to get India not one, not two, but three ICC trophies? Will someone have the fearlessness to ignore Harbhajan and give an over of a lifetime to someone like a Joginder Singh? Will there be someone with the speed of light behind the stumps?
Ah well, and we haven’t even talked about numbers yet. But do we really need to get into that? Probably not. Because – it’s not the numbers that defined Dhoni – it was never about the numbers for him – it is all the above things that made him the legend he is.
So yes, his numbers as a wk-batter may go for a toss in the coming decade, but his legacy will never fade away, for it’s forged in the essence of Indian cricket, with ink, that’ll stand the test of time.
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