The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) were having their customary season-ending P Sen Trophy. Of the five tournaments that CAB runs for its Division 1, this is the special one. There are multiple reasons for that. Only the group winners qualify for this, and it’s an open tournament, which means that a club can get any player from anywhere to play for them. To be able to play in the other four tournaments, the player would have to be registered with the club for the season. The 1994 P Sen Trophy final at the Eden Gardens with 1,10,000 supporters is part of the folklore. Yes, it was Mohun Bagan v East Bengal, and yes, the likes of Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Ajay Jadeja, Manoj Prabhakar, Navjot Sidhu, and Javagal Srinath were in action. I, somehow, also managed to make the playing 11 for East Bengal, and the outcome of that match is a story for another time.
A decade later, a young man with long hair wearing shorts and a T-shirt was loitering around in the veranda in front of the dressing room at the Eden Gardens. It must have been the 33rd or 34th over. He looked like he hadn’t quite made it to the playing 11. But he was indeed in the 11. In fact, his name was at No. 1 on the teamsheet. He had been dismissed early. Or not quite. He had opened the batting, scored a double-hundred (207 off 126 balls for Shyambazar Club against George Telegraph) in about 30 overs, and was literally letting his hair down. Wow!
And all this at the Garden of Eden, where the boundaries are of international standard. That was my first sight of one Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and I was sure it was not going to be my last. I would be lying if I said that I knew what he was destined for. No one knows, unless he goes through the grind. But I was sure in my mind that he would get better and make heads turn.
I kept hearing of him from junior Bengal cricketers. Duleep Trophy games where he would come and play a blinder. Deodhar Trophy games where he would open the batting and completely change the complexion of the game. If my memory serves me right, there was one such game at Rajkot at the old ground, where East Zone were taking on Central Zone. Central had managed a mammoth 350 or thereabouts. Big numbers back in the day with only four fielders inside the circle after 15 overs.
Dhoni was sitting in a corner and having lunch when one his team mates asked him, ‘Plan kya hai tera (What is your plan)?’ His reply was as quick as his stumpings. ‘Simple hai, jayenge aur lagayenge (Simple one, will go hammer and tongs).’ Easier said than done, but when someone has special ability like him, he could walk the talk. He ended up getting 87 in 68 balls against a very potent attack, and East Zone won the game. He seemed to like the Central Zone attack, having smashed them to pulp while scoring 114 from not many at the Keenan Stadium in Jamshedpur in 2004.
In his early days, what stood out was his special ability to hit a cricket ball, and the array of strokes that he had in his repertoire. But for me, what really made him unique was his freehandedness and his ability not to let the situation get the better of him. He seemed to enjoy what he did, and that had nothing to do with how his day went. In professional sport, that is easier said than done. When you play sport for food on the table and to pay the bills at home, the pressure can wear you down, but this boy was cut from a different cloth. In my humble opinion, it is this trait more than anything else that has made him unique.
He went from strength to strength, and his ascent to the Indian team was only second to Mohammed Shami’s. He broke barriers on the way, and he broke them once he got there too. Yes, he did inherit a very good team, but what he did with it is more important. He captained an Indian team with many seniors, and took to it like fish to water. In red-ball cricket, he knew he was the captain but not the best player in the team, and he was alright with that. There was no ego. In white-ball cricket, he was one of the best ever, and sometimes his batting prowess is overlooked by all the laurels that his captaincy won.
As he celebrates another birthday, months after winning another IPL, age seems to stop for some. Here is one such for you. Happy birthday, leg[end]! Keep the party going, the candles burning, and make sure no one counts them.