M.S. DHONI ICC HALL OF FAME | A MOMENT TO CHERISH FOR AN EXTRAORDINARY LEADER OF MEN

The former India skipper’s induction into ICC’s Hall of Fame reflects his contribution to the game, both as a ’keeper and as a finisher in the white-ball format; that his legion want to see more of him is purely down to him staying away from the public eye, which has added to his aura

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Nearly a month before his 44th birthday (July 7), Mahendra Singh Dhoni received an early gift. On Monday in London, he was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame, a little less than six years after his last international outing. There was no fairytale exit for the former captain, whose final game for the country ended in unshed tears and bitter disappointment following the semifinal elimination by New Zealand in the 50-over World Cup in Manchester on July 10, 2019. But Dhoni’s propensity for detached attachment means he would have put that heartbreak behind him not long after the loss and geared up for the next phase of his life.

In a world where people measure the currency of their popularity by the number of followers on social media — of whom he has millions — and a constant desire, whether by choice or otherwise, to keep staying in the public eye, Dhoni is a spectacular exception. He is still an enigma to his vast legion of supporters, assiduously refusing to court attention, surfacing in the lead-up to a fresh season of the Indian Premier League and then retreating to relative obscurity, inasmuch as someone of his stature can become obscure, for months on end, happy in his own world of parents, wife, daughter, bikes, dogs...

This isn’t a calculated, well-planned formula to ensure that the fans keep wanting more of him, to see more of him. That’s how he is wired. That’s how he always has been. When he was the captain, the door to his hotel room was open till such time that he was awake. No one needed to ring him up to ascertain if he was free or if they could drop in. It was literally open door, but when he closed it shut late at night, he was oblivious to the world.

No surprise