Dhoni finishes off in style, India lift the world cup
Back in the day it wasn’t uncommon to find the company HR calling the MVP to the stage as the Sachin Tendulkar of the team during award functions. This Tendulkar was good at what he or she did. Sir ing and Mam ing everyone in sight, refusing to ride pillion on a CBZ, preferring the company bus. He was a high performing non complaining boy. If this superstar had anything remotely flashy about his personality, out went Tendulkar and the script promptly changed to the movie star of the season. Shahrukh Aaja stage par. Le Le apna award.
Before that oh my six 2011, the longest mane in Indian cricket since David Johnson, in spite of already impressive achievements still hadn’t caught on in the urban psyche as much as Tendulkar. Sure the advertisers were already high on MSD and his lighting up of small town India’s imagination, but at least in my circles you did not find bosses and parents putting their hand on your shoulder and saying Beta, Be Like Dhoni. Tendulkar it seemed will always remain the middle class hero. The hair should always remain cropped.
Have talent. Work hard. Don't think. Shut out the world. Try your best. The Tendulkar method.
But unknown to me, things were changing. Not in our cubicles and homes like in the Tendulkar era or even in our hearts but within our minds. Dhoni, like he had burgled his way to victories from defeats, had broken into our heads. As he saw through to victory the promise of every Sachin special innings that ended in defeat, we started finding confidence in our lives. It was not like we were always losing in the past, the Ganguly period had corrected that habit - but we were now seeing the job through or at least staying in contention when it was nobody’s business to do so. Dhoni didn’t say much. But you knckng fnew he believed. And that belief was backed with a hidden strength not in those iron wrists but in whatever lies between the ears.
Have talent. Work hard. Think. Shut out the world. Outhink. Win.
Beta finish the job like Dhoni started being thrown around.
Post Dhoni finishes off in style, India lift the world cup - this something had a shape. It was a behavior everyone wanted to mimic. Apparently it was not over till it was over. Apparently who blinks first does determine the resolution of a standoff. Dhoni was a finisher, and so could we.
Now, we all have that friend, colleague whose mere appearance makes us feel that things will be alright. But now, everyone wanted to be that friend. A finisher. A resolver of situations.
The belief that Dhoni brought to a silly game, seeped into us in this grim uncertain world. Away from the floodlights and Kent RO presents, we started believing that it is alright to not be the most talented person in the world, but if you kept at it, kept at it, kept at it and in the right moment - unleashed...there was a chance. At sport, at work, at life - a new method was shown.
Take time with decisions, don’t give up, take it deep, take it deep, take it deep dammit. Bring the opponent to your own world. Kill. Kill them all.
The joy that Tendulkar gave me has no bounds. That feeling Dhoni will never evoke. But his master class, now that I am old with the broken promise of youth behind me, I realize is what it actually was - a master class meant for advanced students of sport, and of life, wealth & privilege. 101 How to deal with success once you achieve it. Tendulkar was what to do when you were a finished product. Dhoni was how to become one.
The Tendulkar method of hard work on top of talent is a once in a generation phenomena no doubt, but the Mahi way gives you a shot. And more often than not, that is what you seek from life. He was the neighborhood tuition class teacher with a strange confident gait who while teaching you something complex like the Laplace, unknowingly lets through a few tricks about life.
Know yourself, and you don’t need to know the world. Your bat need not come down in a straight arc, your elbow need not be high and head straight - as long as you know which ball you have to hit. That is all there is to it. And belief. Limited and tactical they may be - dare I say, the lessons of Dhoni in our lives are more meaningful and practical. Stuck in a spot, more likely it helps to think about what Dhoni would do, than say what Tendya would And while we may all not win the MVP award, I guess it is not a completely wasted life if someone thinks of you as their own Dhoni when you walk through that door.