Mahi’s friends, coach recall ‘Dhoni moments’

Ranchi: After Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s sudden announcement of retirement from International cricket on Saturday, his friends, coach and others speak of their favourite matches where ‘Captain Cool’ made them proud. Ranchi, Mahi’s hometown, has not always been kind to the former captain of the Indian cricket team. While it celebrated victories such as the World Cup 2011 and the 2007 T20 World Cup, people have also burnt his effigies and vandalised his under-construction house after his poor performances.
For Chanchal Bhattacharjee, one of Dhoni’s coaches when he was young, the 39-year-old cricketer’s 148 runs against Pakistan in 2005 will be his ultimate ‘Dhoni moment’.
Taking to TOI he said, “That performance was Dhoni’s signature to the world of cricket. I still recall former Pakistan president comment about his mane (Dhoni’s hairstyle). That day I knew this Ranchi boy is unstoppable.”
Former university player and a functionary of JSCA, J KSinha, who remained closely associated with the player agreed with Bhattacharjee. He said, “The world’s coolest captain’s every performance will always be special for me, but his century against Pakistan in Vishakapatnam will be my all time favourite.”
According to Sinha, the world’s best finisher also turned out to be the coolest finisher while announcing his retirement. “Unlike many top cricketers who retired from team India in recent years, Dhoni didn’t look for a farewell match for him. That was so typical of his personality, who never claimed credit after winning any match and pushed team mates to hog limelight. He ended his career in style too with just a video message,” he said, adding that the state’s cricketing fraternity will now hope to have the world’s greatest captain as a mentor for budding players.
A CCL employee, Adil Hussain, who captained Dhoni in the late 90s being a part of the CCL cricket team said the match against Sri Lanka during the 2011 world cup final will remain to be his Dhoni moment. “A six in the final over to seal the victory will only be the hallmark of the great,” he remarked, adding that the nail-biting finish is still fresh in his memory.
BJP spokesperson and an avid cricket fan, Pratul Shahdeo echoed, saying, “For crores of Indian cricket fans, the final world cup over will remain to be a treasure.”
After Mahi’s dismal show in a crucial match against Bangladesh in the 2007 World Cup in which India later faced an early exit from the tournament, his fans went maniac in Ranchi and burnt his posters and vandalised his under-construction house in Harmu. The same fans later silently repaired one of the broken boundary walls of his home, which Mahi later named Shauriya.
In 2010, a couple of CCTV cameras of his house were stolen by unidentified criminals. In 2011, the city hailed him as a god when he led the India team to bring home the coveted world cup ending a close to three-decade wait. But two years later, his irate fans again pelted stones at his house in Harmu after the India-Asutralia test match in Ranchi’s JSCA stadium in Dhurwa suffered a washout because of the rain, with many upset with Dhoni's decision to field first robbing spectators to watch India bat.
On the contrary, there have also been instances of pujas and hawans before big games. One of the pandas of Deori temple in Tamar, which Dhoni never missed to visit whenever he is in Ranchi, said, “While gods make any people famous, this temple earned its fame because of Dhoni as he revers Maa Deori so much so that he never misses an opportunity to pay darshan whenever he comes or goes out of Ranchi, mostly before any tournament.” The panda, however, wished that the son of the soil would contribute with donations to revamp the temple.