At the stroke of 1929 hours, Dhoni finishes off in style.
MS Dhoni aka Mahendra Singh Dhoni aka Mahi, A name wrapped around thousands of emotions, a feeling of strength, hope, and confidence. Mahi has been a household name since the beginning of his tremendous journey and will always remain one. As of 15th August 2020, our Captain Cool retires, leaving a void in our hearts and tears in our eyes, so here we are, highlighting the sparks he left throughout these 16 amazing years, celebrating moments of his happiness and struggles, bidding him a farewell he deserves.
Life of our beloved captain has not been a secret. The internet is flooded with his struggles, his stories, and every interesting anecdote from his life, but as we read them all today, goosebumps take over.
One such interesting and I guess most difficult to believe the fact, about MS Dhoni, is the 2004 ODI against Bangladesh. The runout specialist, in his very first ODI, got the stumps off in zero by getting runout. But then, rest is history.
As he walks to the crease, clam and composed, takes his stance and looks around the field, we all know where the ball is going to go. Up in the sky, a smashing sixer, Dhoni swings his bat for a helicopter shot, the crowd cheers, the team jumps, but the Captain, he takes his stance again.
Next comes his stories about patriotism, how he is only the second Indian cricketer to receive the Honorary rank of Lt. Colonel from the Indian Territorial Army, in 2011. His love for his nation is further seen in his decision, of removing the Indian flag from his helmet. The reason being, as a wicketkeeper, he constantly had to change between his helmet and his cap, putting the other headgear down on the grass and how can he let the national flag touch the ground!
The man in blue, is the only man, winning all 3 of the ICC trophies, setting records for generations to come. Then comes another whopping fact, his maiden century in Test against Pakistan, 148 in 93 balls, the fastest century by an Indian Wicketkeeper.
When we see him play, we know he doesn’t do it for glorifying his career or raising the score bar, or for his name flashing with the broken records, he does it for the country, for the team, and for his undying love for this nation.
The stories of him playing football and being one of the best goalkeepers, swinging racket in a badminton game, checking tickets of train passengers, his down to earth nature and love for his two dogs, we have all heard and loved. One of my favourites is from the interview of 2016, where he is asked about retirement and he simply starts smiling, makes the conversation funny and ends it with a smart reply. The guy sure knows how to win someone’s heart.
Also Read: The Power to Inspire – Sourav Ganguly
In yet another press conference, he talks about his favourite singer, Kishor Kumar and his favourite song, Pal do Pal by Mukesh, stating how seamlessly it fits with his career, and then on 15th, he ends his journey with the same song.
Mahi is not just a cricketer of yesterday or a legend for tomorrow, he is an emotion, a feeling you want to savor.
Today, with the end of his era, I fold his memories in a box and lock them in my heart, realizing I can no more say, “Abhi to Dhoni baki hai.”
With a magnificent strike into the ground, India lifts the world cup after 28 years!
I can still feel the rush, the roar. Dhoni! Dhoni! The nation cheers and 9 years later, the player retires.
Visit THEUNCOMMONBOX AMAZON SHOP for buying products.
The article is Written by Kshiti Jhala. Her Instagram id is @Kshiiti
Artwork Credits
@karanvanjara_official | @anupam_arts | @sachin.artist
@artist_pranjalapoorva | @siddhesh_bharati95
@abheearts | @seervi_suraj_art
The article is Curated by Vaibhav. His Instagram id is @frameshade
You can follow “THE UNCOMMON BOX” at the following social channels
