Dhoni Captain 'Uncool'?

It's a rare feat and a rare sight too. Chennai Super Kings' MS Dhoni achieved a major landmark on Thursday to become the first-ever captain in IPL cricket to win 100 matches. "The history of the world," wrote Thomas Carlyle, "is but the biography of great men." And if his ideas have been discredited since, in sport, at least, they've still some truth to them. For the rest of his life as captain of the Indian cricket team, Dhoni has led India to victory in the 2011 World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy. He is the man who brought himself on to bowl for four overs in the Champions Trophy semi‑final against Sri Lanka, took off his gloves so that he could better carry out a run-out off the last ball to beat Bangladesh in the World T20 meet. He is also the one to promote himself up to No. 5 in the order during the World Cup final in Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium though he had barely made a run all tournament long. Dhoni is the only cricketer who has been picked as one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people on the planet. His aggression, attitude and captaincy have shaped the entire landscape of the modern game. He is a winner, a great mentor, charming and humble as always. But his recent feat was marred by a long debate. An emotionally-charged Dhoni, who had just been dismissed after a stunning performance, stormed on to the ground from the Chennai Super Kings' dugout and confronted the umpires on why they had failed to call an above-the-waist delivery from Rajasthan Royals' Ben Stokes a no-ball. Dhoni argued that Ulhas Gandhe, the umpire standing at the bowler's end, had raised his arm to signal a no-ball. But he quickly realised that it was not his call and reversed his decision after square leg umpire Bruce Oxenford considered it a legal delivery. Oxenford stood his ground and refused to go upstairs to the third umpire which was kind of unfair. Dhoni was furious at Gandhe for backtracking after initially signalling it as a no-ball. However, CSK eventually beat Rajasthan Royals by four wickets in a last-ball cliffhanger. Dhoni has been fined 50 per cent of his match fees for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct. With the pressure getting to him, MSD totally lost his cool and the world finally got a glimpse of 'Uncool Dhoni'. Whoever the player is, he is definitely not bigger than the game. The decorated captain set the wrong precedence and considering his level of maturity and composure, he will surely realise that he shouldn't have done it in the first place.