Man Of The Moment

I first saw Dhoni in a first class match. I can't remember anything about that match but Dhoni. There was a lot of buzz about him in the media. He was thought to become our Gilchrist. He had a great tour of Africa with India 'A' team. He was about to break into the Indian team. If you think I remember him in that match for his great performance then you are on wrong boat. He made first ball duck in that match. The man, with coloured locks flowing, pulled his first ball right at the throat of square leg. Worse he walked as if nothing happened. No emotion not even a shake of head, nothing. He looked so arrogant. I was shocked to say the least. I thought he was over rated. He will become Gilchrist!!! No way!!!!

Now I look back & think how deceptive first impression can be. Since then he has achieved whatever a person can dream of. What is it which fetches him so much success? After all he is not the most talented player around. I find Dinesh Karthik far more accomplished but he is not even in frame now. Is Dhoni really that much lucky that nothing can go wrong with him. Absolutely not. Only luck can't take you where he is right now.

I don't claim to be a psychologist, body language reader or to know Dhoni closely. But if you dig deeper you will find a certain approach. He has some method right from the start. He lives in the moment & backs himself. The man who looked to me arrogant was actually moved on the moment he was out. There was no point in regretting it. He lives in the moment & moves on when it is passed. This is his biggest strength. I was amazed how he was not reacting to a world cup win. When everybody around him (in fact entire nation) was screaming or crying he was just smiling. World Cup win must have relieved him & he must be proud of his achievement but the moment he hit that six he was done. He moved on. So no screaming or crying like everybody. Every person has his way of dealing with pressure Dhoni has his own.

Yes, he takes gambles too but the smart ones. Do you remember 2007 World T20 final's legendary last over? Dhoni gave the last over to Joginder Sharma. Was it a gamble? There was some logic to it. It was not a blind decision. It was a calculated risk. Quota of all the main bowlers except Harbhajan were finished. He could have given ball to four players at that time. Harbhajan, Yuvraj, Yusuf Pathan & Joginder Sharma. Harbhajan already went for quite a few runs in his last over. Misbah had clear edge over Harbhajan at that time. Yusuf was playing his first international match. That left Dhoni with Yuvraj & Joginder. Yuvraj had not bowled a single bowl in that match till then & his bowling was not as flourshing as it is now. Now take the case of Joginder. Before the final over he had bowling figure of 3 overs/ 12 runs and a wicket. Now who would you choose to bowl the last over.

When you hear about Dhoni you will come to know about his love for bikes, war stories, action flicks, guns etc. All his likes indicates that he is a reckless young man. But have you ever heard about him being found in late night parties or seen in a night club!!! So is there some kind of disciplined & dedicated person. I hope you got my point.