Not Anyone’s ‘Keeper’ — MS Dhoni Was His Own Brand

“The gloves are off”, is a phrase to signify aggression, or something that will be done in rapid haste. But sadly, for Indian World Cup winning captain, MS Dhoni, the gloves are off, the boots are hung and he has run his last run; didn’t complete it though as he was run out in the World Cup semi-final.

His journey has been transformational, from the boondocks of Bihar, Jharkhand, to the pinnacle of Indian cricket, MS Dhoni changed cricket, and for many in India, he was Mr. Cricket himself.

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It was a time in Indian cricket, when wicket-keepers changed as rapidly as the leaves of an England fall. There was never a sense of permanence since Nayan Mongia had donned the gloves. They came and went, some stayed longer: Saba Karim, MSK Prasad, Deep Dasgupta, Parthiv Patel, Samir Dighe, Ajay Ratra, Vijay Dahiya; heck even Rahul Dravid was forced to keep wickets, both a testimony to his versatility, the epitome of being a team-man and the fact there was a cry for permanence behind the wicket.

Enter #MSDhoni! Few thought of much a long-haired, swashbuckling batsman from Ranchi. There today, gone tomorrow, it seemed! In an ephemeral world, particularly Indian cricket, long dominated by the ‘Bombay’ lobby and a…