M.S. Dhoni has had many surprises for Indian fans throughout his career right from 2004 till present date. Undoubtedly he has been the spine for Indian cricket for over a decade, not only inside the field but outside too. He never fails to deliver surprises whether it be the test baton, or the T20 cup or the 2011 world cup or his retirement from captaincy to dropping out of the longest format of the game. Whilst this, only rare would it have happened that you saw this man a little out of his 'title' and losing a bit of his cool for the shortest time possible. Now that he is 38, talks of his retirement from the international level have been on the limelight upon every cricket fan. Does he have a surprise waiting for us again? Is this 'ice sculpture' going to finish things off in style?
M.S. Dhoni had and even now has fans, who pray him, worship him. He has been an emotion to India, their pride, their vigour, their dedication. 'When it's him on the ground, everything is possible'. Even if you see him as a wicket-keeper batsman only and not the captain, his contribution to the team is unmatched. His analysis of the pitch, how quickly he assesses the game, his DRS decisions, which by many is termed as 'Dhoni Review System', his field placement and his cool composure despite a win or loss. Definitely, each one of the players, be it Indian or from any other team, has learnt something from him. Yes, you can find some of his quality in various players, but the amalgamation of all of it is in the present day the only one.
His analysis of things is faster on the field and off the field too. After the loss of India in knockout stages of 2015 world cup and his failure to deliver as a batsman, there were some outrages against him, that he should be given less burden now, and should be allowed to play freely and a bit up the order. Dhoni assessed this situation too very quickly and rightly gave up the captaincy in 2016. In his speech, he mentioned that he thought there was someone better available to lead the team from a different front and no doubt this has given India yet another strong captain who leads the team by examples. Sunil Gavaskar on Dhoni's retirement from captaincy said: "I would have been protesting in front of his house if he would have retired from the game then".
Records are meant to be broken, people are meant to age and erode, ideologies live forever and names are meant to be praised. Dhoni may have had something in his mind for his retirement from international cricket, but I think this time he has been a little late to deliver the final shot. As has been career in past few years, taking it deep doesn't always help, last overs don't always fetch you 36 runs. Now that he himself has opted out of the series against West Indies, it is unlikely to predict if he would continue further, have a game at his home ground as a farewell match, or he simply will walk off silently with a wry smile as has always done. Mahi! If there is a surprise again this time, expectations aside, it has to be huge so as to cover up the coarse days that have passed.