Romancing with his tribe

Like the proverbial phoenix rising from the ashes, Chennai Super Kings have bounced back in the 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League. Tonight, they will go full tilt at another shot for the title, having last won it in 2021 in Dubai when India was ravaged by the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2022, CSK flopped, not making it to the playoffs. Had it been any other IPL team, they would have been shredded, by fans as well as by social media. No, because fans of CSK are knowledgeable and discerning, they did not slam their team last year.

From FM radio stations in Chennai to fans on several social media platforms, the love showered by fans was captivating. They gave the team another chance and the results are here to see in 2023. It has been hectic last two months, almost. Sunday’s match is going to be a big one, just that CSK under MS Dhoni became the first team to storm into the final by jolting Gujarat Titans in their first attempt.

Was this really expected? If you ask the die-hard CSK fans, they never had any doubts about their team. After all, when Thala Dhoni is in command, anything is possible. It has now become a habit for CSK fans to never lose hope when Dhoni is calling the shots. No, one is not talking about his patented helicopter shot, but how he commands the team. Dhoni may not have scored too many runs in the 2023 season, but it’s his leadership, along with full control as captain, which has stood out. After all, to pummel Gujarat in Chennai and seal a final spot meant the players got plenty of rest.

There have been highs and lows in this IPL, as expected. Given the long-drawn format of the tournament, to peak early and sustain it right through was impossible. Teams like Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore failed. No, not CSK, as Dhoni knew how to go about it. Since the time the first edition of the IPL began, less than a year after India won the World T20 title in 2007, Dhoni has been a magician. There is no doubting his commitment to CSK, it’s like being part of the ethos and pathos of Chennai. Over the last three years, because of the pandemic, the team was not able to play fully at home. The overwhelming return to Chepauk was scintillating, where tickets were sold in the black market at crazy prices.

To be sure, playing in Chennai is not easy under muggy conditions. Added to the heat and humidity, the wicket had also slowed down. Mastering the conditions was not easy at all but Dhoni knew how to bring the best out of the team. The talismanic CSK skipper may not have been in beast mode himself, but as a wicket-keeper, despite the knee flare up and pain, he has managed it well.

Sample this, almost half a dozen younger guys who play for India are out with an injury or under rehab. The list includes Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul plus a few more. Against this backdrop, Dhoni has continued to labour for his team and lead by example. That he brings the best out of his team is well known. After all, from Virat Kohli to Hardik Pandya, each one has spoken glowingly about Dhoni the leader and what all he could teach in recent weeks. Such valuable lessons have helped many players blossom, for which they are thankful.

In the good old days, captains were respected for their tactical acumen and how they managed the players. One name which readily comes to mind is that of Mike Brearley. The England captain was described as a great strategist, even though in the latter part of his career, he may not have been that important as a batsman. Likewise, ousted Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, also famous as the captain of the team from across the border, was a shrewd skipper.

As the shin stress fracture made it impossible for him to bowl at a scorching pace, Imran played more as a batter and leader. It was his effort which helped Pakistan win the World Cup in 1992. Today, Imran is being treated shabbily by his own country, where the Pak Army and the ISI call the shots. This column is not really meant to dissect Imran the politician, but he has shown that even in the dirty Pak politics, he has been able to stir the hornet’s nest!

If Imran was the quintessential cricket captain who taught players to fight with aggro, and groomed a brilliant battery of fast bowlers, Dhoni the skipper has been the best. For a man who led India to two World Cups, in T20 and ODI format, his evolution as the best ever IPL captain does not need to be debated. Cricket statisticians can do all kinds of flawed comparisons but if there is one man in the IPL who is the king, it has to be MSD.

The kind of love, adulation, hero worship which Tamil Nadu offers to cine stars and politicians is well known. From Late MG Ramachandran to J Jayalalithaa, Tamil Nadu has worshipped these former cine stars who embraced politics and became Chief Ministers. After that, the Thala tag, which in English means Boss Man, was used for Rajnikanth. Rajni, as fans know him, can still pull tricks and stunts out of the bag in Tamil movies. Cinema halls roar, when they see him.

If that kind of superstar status has been bestowed on anyone else, it is not Kamal Hasan, another Tamil cine legend, but MS Dhoni. The CSK skipper cuts across generations. From kids to Millennials and octogenarians who love cricket, Dhoni is Thala. Try saying a word against him in Chennai or Tamil Nadu, you will face the music. TN is a state which has loved films and cricket in equal measure, yet the birth of the IPL in 2008 gave it another chance to romance with cricket.

What happens in the final today is hard to predict. Frankly speaking, on paper, this CSK side is not the best when you do a SWOT analysis. Yet, what makes them so strong is the skipper leading the side with pride and belief. At the risk of sounding invidious, Dhoni’s fighting attitude is in some ways similar to that of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy knows he does not have the best firepower at his disposal but his soldiers are ready to fight Russian madman Vladimir’s Putin’s forces.

Dhoni’s boys and men have competed hard against better teams on paper in this IPL. The key has been to make them fighters and lead by example. At 42 with swollen knees and restricted mobility, Dhoni has not winced once in pain. He did not miss a single league match, 14 in all, plus the most important knock out against Gujarat Titans. To say that there is more room for CSK to find better players would be stating the obvious. No, Dhoni has made it an art of winning, bringing the best out of whatever resources he has at his disposal, which includes Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali and a bunch of wily spinners from Sri Lanka.

So, how long does the MSD show go on, really? Someone as famous as Harsha Bhogle erred in asking Dhoni if this was his last IPL, after the big match against Gujarat Titans. Dhoni was calm and composed. He spoke of being away from home for so long, and how the IPL has taken a toll on his body. Dhoni really does not need to be doing all this, really. He can slip into any cricketing role, minus the pain and pressure.

For Dhoni, the CSK is not just a franchise he plays for. He romances CSK and the IPL. And he made it clear the other day, life minus CSK is impossible. It made many die-hard CSK fans emotional and sentimental, as life minus Thala is tears. It’s almost as if Dhoni has made a promise, he will not leave CSK, come what may. As he said himself, where is the need to talk of what to do in the IPL in 2024. There is still a long time and the next auction will be in December 2023. For the record, when CSK won the IPL in 2021 in Dubai, there was speculation that Dhoni would walk into the sunset.

Predicting sunrise and sunset is easy, not deciding what Dhoni is going to do next. Just to jog the readers’ memory, in 2022, CSK had experimented with Jadeja as skipper and the results were not good. Soon enough, Dhoni again took charge. No one can decide for Dhoni, he is the master and he will do what his heart says. The way he gave up captaincy of Team India was shocking. Then again, no money bags can tempt the CSK skipper to change colours and join another franchise. Dhoni’s journey in the IPL with CSK is a romance, a love affair, never ending. It’s thicker than blood and the bond he shares with the CSK personnel is very personal. Let not cricket experts try and read the emotions between Dhoni and

CSK, it’s way too personal. Stay off!