Chennai: This is all about finisher Dhoni. Be it the 2019 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand or the Qualifier against Delhi Capitals in 2021 or the final over against the Mumbai Indians on Thursday or the ‘n’ number of super chases which Dhoni had been part of including the inspiring helmet-punch finish in 2010, everyone at the venue knew that the contest wasn’t over till Dhoni was in the middle orchestrating the chase.
Yes. Dhoni was at his tactical best with Jasprit Bumrah on top of his game. Dhoni was at his tactical best when he told Dwaine Pretorius to “wait” and not go hard against Bumrah in 17th over. Finisher Dhoni was at his belligerent best when he smashed Jaydev Unadkat for 16 runs in four balls to pull off a heist in Mumbai.
But what makes this 40-year-old finisher Dhoni so special?
Dhoni last featured in a Test match in 2014. Dhoni, who had won three World titles in limited-overs cricket, relinquished his captaincy in 2017. He played his last T20I in February 2019, last ODI in July 2019 and shocked everyone with his retirement on August 15, 2020.
Since August 2020, Dhoni has only featured in the IPL – which is three months of cricket in a year inside a bio-bubble environment. During the T20 World Cup in 2021 – a month after leading the Super Kings to IPL 2021 title victory – Dhoni was the mentor of the Indian Cricket Team. Before the beginning of IPL 2022, he passed on the captaincy baton to his trusted lieutenant Ravindra Jadeja.
Amidst all this, one thing never changed – finisher Dhoni. It’s always a challenge for any athlete – especially in a team sport – to maintain the motivational level to perform as well as the fire inside to keep him/her fit post retirement.
Once you are not part of a team environment, it becomes that much tougher for any individual to push themselves day in and day out. Wake up on time. Gym. Diet. Train. Practice. Repeat. All of this alone!
“Dhoni has so much passion for cricket. He has so much passion for CSK. The players of that caliber, they will always be at the top and do well and that experience will tell, that’s what he’s doing,” Chennai Super Kings CEO K.S.Viswanathan tells CSK TV.
But IPL is a different beast altogether and one has to be one of top his game and fitness to last the grind. Former Indian Cricket team trainer Ramji Srinivasan says Dhoni “has a different mindset” altogether.
“I always believe Dhoni trains like an individual athlete,” begins Ramji, who was the trainer of Team India during the 2011 World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy.
“It is absolutely necessary to trust and believe in your skill and ability to deliver in a crucial time. You need to have that mindset and self-confidence for your body to respond like that. These both are highly interconnected. This aspect is called bio-rhythm, where your mind and body are in total sync,” Ramji adds.
For someone who has trained a lot of individual athletes in various sports, Ramji compares Dhoni with the legendary Roger Federer in terms of preparation.
“I would straight away compare Dhoni to Federer. In terms of preparation, you can see a lot of similarity. If you see Federer, he makes things look very easy…his forehand or backhand, his drop shot, serve and volley, serve. Everything looks so easy and effortless. But to make things look so easy, you need twice the hard work that the others are doing and it has to be smart work as well.
“Dhoni is a natural and his fitness is natural. His solid calf muscles and thighs can give enormous amount of power and speed. You see the way he collects the ball and sprints to the stumps and makes a run-out. Or the split, the previous year or the one before the last that he did during his stumping…look at the split. He is naturally strong. He exactly understands that and this is what bio-rhythm is all about. The body listens to his mind and his mind listens to his body. And most importantly, Dhoni trains smartly,” adds Ramji.
Super Kings CEO K.S. Viswanathan says mentor “Dhoni has been a great inspiration” to everyone in the team.
“Even now, if you look at him, he trains day in and day out, he talks to every player and gives tips as to how you handle a situation. When he was batting, from the other end, he was telling Jadeja and Pretorius how they’ll bowl and how they have to play. The kind of involvement he has and the kind of advice he gives to the players to motivate them and do well. He’s always there to help.
“We can see Mukesh and how he’s improved. The only thing he can do is give them his experience and tell them what they should expect and do. It is up for those individual players to carry out. He’s been a great inspiration to all of them,” Viswanathan adds.
Skipper Jadeja, who expressed his delight and respect to Thala by bowing post the super finish against Mumbai, mentioned: “It feels good that Mahi bhai is still hungry, he is still in touch, and everybody in the dressing room feels calm knowing he is in the middle and if he stays till the end, definitely he will win the match for us.”
We are half-way through the tournament and like Jadeja had stated on Thursday, one thing is certain: “Dhoni showed the world that he’s still here and he can finish the game.”
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