Can Dhoni find second wind at the twilight of his career? || IPL 2023

We live in a digital age where nothing seems to go under the radar, and the sporting world isn’t any different. Just over a few days ago, in quintessentially humid and muggy conditions at the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai, MS Dhoni was practicing range hitting ahead of IPL 2023. The veteran did clear the boundary rope quite a few times. But more than those long sixes, something else went more viral during those practice sessions, which in turn made Harsha Bhogle observe on Twitter: “Never seen Dhoni as bulked up as this. Power game this Tata IPL?”

Obviously, to transfer the power on to the hands and then the ball, it requires more than just a machismo-oozing physique. But those images give an inkling that Dhoni is trying to stay relevant at a skill that has made him an icon of Indian cricket.

Just for a moment, let’s spool back in time to November 2002 – Bihar were playing Karnataka in a Ranji Trophy game. It was a completely different world. There was no Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Tik-Tok. In June 2002, Nokia had just released 7650 – the first camera phone. And Dhoni was just another cricketer ploughing through the hard grind of Indian domestic cricket.

All one can remember from that Ranji game is a small footnote with brief scores in a Times of India newspaper. In the brief scores, the one standout performer on the final day of the game was Dhoni. Then just 21, the wicketkeeper-batter went on to crack a breezy 93 with his side in dire-straits. The opposition attack had a couple of ex Indian bowlers in their ranks – D Ganesh and Sunil Joshi. At that time, very few could have guessed Dhoni would go on to become a superstar but he had started to slowly gain a reputation for his big-hitting prowess in domestic cricket.

Since 2003, Dhoni’s awe-inspiring story is a well-documented one. The quick-fire hundred in the Deodhar Trophy, success in the ‘A’ tri-series in Kenya, maiden ODI ton against Pakistan in Visakhapatnam, mastering many run-chases and his nimble work behind the stumps. Yes, Dhoni has also led India and CSK to coveted titles. The bigger picture that emerges in all of this is, he was able to navigate through various challenges and carve out a successful path. There were occasions when he failed but he switched on the erase button and recovered quickly.

Dhoni at his very best had a stable base and used the downswing arc to maximum effect as he cracked some mind-numbing strokes including the famous helicopter shot. Age, however, catches up with everyone and Dhoni is no different. The man with the Midas touch has seen his strike rates drop down to 123.4, 106.54 and 116.27 over the last three IPL seasons. This isn’t the Dhoni who used to gobble up stiff chases with ease.

It is true that his rather modest returns have been sprinkled by a few noteworthy performances – the 16 runs he collected off just four balls against MI’s Jaydev Unadkat and also the three boundaries he smacked while facing DC’s Tom Curran a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, for CSK and his fans, those performances have been too far and few between. His eyes and mind could after all be making the right decision to play front or back. Just that his body is perhaps not moving as quickly as he would want to. To make matters worse for Dhoni, he has retired from international cricket. So without any competitive cricket to fall back on, it has become tougher for him to stay match fit for just two months of IPL.

Ahead of CSK’s last match of IPL 2022, Dhoni had confirmed his participation for IPL 2023. “Definitely. It’s a simple reason: it will be unfair to not play in Chennai and say thank you [to the fans]. Mumbai is one place where, as a team and as an individual, I have got a lot of love and affection but it wouldn’t be nice to the CSK fans.”

Perhaps those few clips of Dhoni clubbing sixes at the practice session indicate that we are about to see the final bits of his genius gene on a cricket field. And for Dhoni to get the chance to say ‘thank you’ to his fans after lifting the title. Or is it just wishful thinking on our part? Perhaps Dhoni would want to play one more season of IPL? Eventually, your guess is as good as mine. The one point that can be said for sure is, like always, he would look to stay in the present and embrace challenges.