His unconventional playing calls have marked Mahendra Singh Dhoni as India’s most innovative cricketer. Off the field, the alpha male, otherwise obsessed with bikes, has swiftly morphed into a loving and devoted dad. Anjali Doshi decodes his mind and mystique
Fatherhood makes people do strange things. An alpha male shows no hesitation in carrying a man purse. An intensely private person doesn’t object to personal interactions being broadcast on social media. A man who has long suspected the futility of the rat race embraces the idea that achievement is essentially an illusion, as useful as it may be in earning fame and wealth. MS Dhoni seems to have discovered much joy — and a softer side — in fatherhood, using all his spare time on the IPL trail to bond with daughter Ziva. For a man otherwise obsessed with motorbikes, fighter jets and the armed forces, Dhoni seems just as ready now to discuss baby food, colic and the terrible twos. Perhaps, there’s no real surprise here. His roots may lie in the chauvinistic crannies and nooks of Ranchi, but the most influential figures in his life have been women he would describe as smart and strong: his mother Devaki Devi, sister Jayanti and wife Sakshi.
Will he ever be as loved as Sachin Tendulkar? unlikely. Will he ever be as highly regarded a batsman as Virat Kohli? Surely not. Can he be considered India’s most innovative and unusual cricketer, on and off the field? Almost certainly.
This story is from the June 2016 edition of Verve.
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This story is from the June 2016 edition of Verve.
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