MS Dhoni - The Bevan of India

Every cricket lover would remember the innumerable number of times Michael Bevan had rescued the Kangaroos from dire straits, to secure victory for them. He was a terrific ODI player, born to thrive in the limited overs format. He used to arrive, many a times during a crisis situation, or in the cricketing parlance, after a top order collapse! He would take his own sweet time to settle down, trying to convert the singles to twos and the twos to threes. He would then shift gears at the death with equal ease. Andy Bichel, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Paul Reiffel would all testify with surety that Bevan was one of those rare cricketers who could establish a tremendous rapport with “the tail”.

Okay, enough about Bevan. Let’s move to India – the cricket crazy nation now! In fact, so crazy, that they have derived inspiration from the English cricket loving community (the Barmy Army) to name themselves “The Swamy Army”. Yes, expectations are plentiful in this part of the world.

Ever since we lifted the World Cup back in 2011, very few in the cricketing circles would actually deny this lull phase in Indian cricket. A string of defeats away and at home have resulted in sceptics and media-persons having several field days! There have been calls for the captain’s head in all the three formats. Some would say it is a valid claim. But the interesting point to note here is the perennial composure and calm with which Dhoni responds to brickbats.

He has an aura of serenity around him when he is on the field whether keeping and captaining, and also when he is on the crease, batting. His batting ability cannot be described in words. A fierce striker and a reckless pinch-hitter in his early days, Dhoni has adapted according the situation and adopted various roles in ODI cricket with elan. He seems to be the focal point of our batting line-up, around whom everyone revolves. Not too perturbed by consistency or form, he exhibits both with class and comfort. The inventor of the Helicopter shot, he has come a long way; evolving from the long haired energetic youth to a mastermind finisher.

Even in the moments of despair and gloom for India, Dhoni’s fireworks always seem to be the motivating factor. Fans wait for him to explode with his slogs and cuts and what not! The level of responsibility has burgeoned to the zenith ever since he assumed captaincy and there has been no looking behind. A true mascot for One day cricket, we can call him, thanks to his attacking instincts and phenomenal ability to accelerate. Even now, as we speak, he has upped the ante for the team in Kochi against England, lifting the team score from a mediocre one to a potentially match winning total! His level of consistency shows in his career average of 50+ despite his career spanning over 200 ODIs! India’s Michael Bevan has always been here, and we need to realise his true worth in the team, at least now.