Dhoni is one player who plays the game on his own terms. He has played some sensational innings in his career and is still capable of pulling something special. There have been times in Dhoni’s career where he has been criticized for many things, but he has not let that affect his game or captaincy. Here are some examples:
When he first came onto the scene:
When Dhoni first came onto the scene as a batsman, he was someone who could hit the ball really hard but had no technique. A lot of commentators and journalists felt that he wasn’t someone who would be able to last a long time because of his approach to batting.
However, Dhoni more than made up for it with his power and excellent timing ability. Soon, he was winning games on his own and his wicket-keeping was excellent. He didn’t come out in the open to address the unnecessary criticism but let his batting do the talking.
When he dropped the seniors
This was a topic of hot discussion back in the prime of Dhoni’s career as India’s captain. He took the bold decision to rotate the seniors, Gambhir, Sachin and Sehwag by allowing just 2 out of the 3 to play at a time.
There was a little discontent in the camp but the results began showing in the field. Youngsters like Rohit Sharma grabbed the opportunity and the fielding too improved by a big margin. Dhoni must be credited for instilling the ethos of athleticism in the squad and braved the storm despite being criticized.
When his fitness was questioned
The World T20 in India was considered to be probably Dhoni’s last assignment as captain. A lot of journalists also felt that Dhoni would retire after the tourney but he responded to them in the most stylish fashion.
He called the journalist to the front and questioned him about his own fitness and commitment. Once the journalist said that Dhoni indeed looked fit, he said that he had answered his own question and there would be no need to ask more.
When they questioned his finishing ability
One bad season with RPS and suddenly everybody was questioning Dhoni’s finishing abilities. As captain of the franchise in the first season, he was not able to bring them to the play-offs and a lot of people felt he was done being the finisher of the squad.
However, in the final match of the tournament, he hit 23 runs off the last over the win the game for RPS and remind everyone that there was still life left in his illustrious career.
By Rohit Nair
