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| Why can't the 41-year-old Dhoni's spell of captaincy be broken? |
Almost 15 years ago, when a 38-year-old captain led his team to the first edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), many felt it would be right to say that a great player like him had never The country's team captain is no longer.
Whether Shane Warne thought so or not, as captain, he played a double role in this win for Rajasthan Royals. One as a strategist and the other as a listener and problem solver.
Although Australia never saw him as captain, the franchise did and he repaid that belief (with a trophy).
Mahendra Singh Dhoni played this role of captaincy equally seriously. In his 250th IPL match, which also saw the final last week, Dhoni is Chennai Super Kings' on-field strategist. As much as he has a grip on cricket, he understands the potential of his players.
They know when to move a fielder at square leg to the left, they also know when to ignore a player or show him a hard face.
When Deepak Chahar dropped a catch to Shibman Gill early in the final over, Dhoni simply went back to his place behind the stumps and applauded the bowler (and possibly the fielder for stopping the run) from there.
Dhoni's point of view was respected
At the age of 41 and has played 538 international matches, it was natural to respect Dhoni's age and experience. But his attitude was respected because of the mentality that sport is important but not a matter of life and death.
You make a mistake, you drop a catch, your partner gets run out because of your mistake, and things like that happen. But if all this is done without thinking, the captain may say something to you, otherwise, he doesn't pay much attention to it and moves on.
When Dhoni steps up in such a situation during the game, so does his team. Autopsies are left for later, not during the match.
Dhoni was 28 when he won the IPL trophy for the first time for Chennai Super Kings and it was the third edition of the IPL. A year earlier, 38-year-old Adam Gilchrist won the trophy for Deccan Chargers, a team from Hyderabad.
So should IPL captaincy be left to seasoned cricketers who can see this fast-changing game from every angle? Is it better to have a public figure as a captain because former players with big salaries sitting in the dugout are changing tactics quickly?
After the age of 35, Dhoni has now led his team to three trophies. T20 may be a youth game but it has been beneficial to have an older cricketer as captain, whom the whole team emulates.
'Let's do it for the captain', is a good team policy that openly promotes the quality of teamwork.
A good captain can turn an average team into a winner by treating the players well and giving them respect and conveying the message that they are on their side.
Ravindra Jadeja, who scored 10 off the last two balls to win the trophy for Chennai Super Kings, said, "That title goes to Dhoni."
Hardik does not regret losing to Dhoni
'I am very happy for Dhoni' are the words of the captain of the rival team which confirms this.
Hardik Pandya was saying this when the final match was decided at 1.30 on the third day (the match was not played on the first day due to rain) and after two months of struggle, he reached the final, which he lost.
Hardik said, 'There is no regret in losing to them. Good things happen to good people. He is the nicest person I have ever met.'
Both Warne and Dhoni look soft on the outside but are actually strong and determined personalities, lifting the broken morale of the players and leaving them to succeed on their own.
It was Warne who singled out Ravindra Jadeja as a 'rock star', not for his all-around cricketing prowess but for his attitude and punctuality. It stuck to them and the name persists even today.
A great captain begins to displace himself overtime when his team understands his philosophy and the players understand how to do their job.
It will be interesting to see if Dhoni will play again in IPL next year and if he doesn't then who will replace him as captain.
Rituraj Gaikwad's name has been talked about a lot but it is important to talk about the experienced player who doesn't seem to be struggling to make it into the national team.
Warne left the IPL after four seasons, his team never got such a magical captain and Rajasthan Royals failed to win the trophy for the first time since then.