The Ugly Duckling of Indian Cricket

When Arnold Swarchenegger is introduced in Terminator, he looks like a very well built man. Nothing very extraordinary. Only when a ruffian tries to stick his knife into Arnold and he in-turn literally punches through the man, we realize there is more than bones and muscles underneath his human skin.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is a similar case. He may not show it outside, but there is a fire burning inside his ice-cool exterior. It is that fire that made him switch from hockey to cricket very late in his life and yet, lead India to two world cup victories. It is that fire that makes him treat accolades and criticisms alike, and smile at his bowler when the opposition needs one run off the final delivery of a championship final.

Two times in two days during the ongoing CB series, he was the chief architect of two wonderful run chases. That Dhoni is a wonderful finisher in ODIs is nothing new, but to do so without any of his trademark flamboyancy and reserve them for only when it mattered the most is something really noteworthy. Though one may still not understand his logic behind letting the run-rate climb higher and take the match to a fairy-tale finish more than once, it is the confidence and self-belief of this man from a small town that needs to be commended.

When he started playing for India, he was surely not the best wicket-keeper available. Even today, Dinesh Karthik is technically a better keeper than Dhoni. But when it comes to effectiveness, with his super-smart and lightning-quick glovework, Dhoni is way ahead. Even his batting is no treat to eyes, one can even call him 'The Ugly Duckling of Indian cricket'. But when a man can hit the cricket ball 120 metres, at will, then why care about footwork and grip technique ?!

Dhoni's fans feel the tie in last match is a good sign, whenever Dhoni's team tied a match in a tournament, it has won the cup. His critics though, feel the tie is a wake-up call and he mustn't resort to taking the match till the very end. All I can remember is what someone once said about Frank Abagnale, the notorious con-artist:

"Frank Abagnale could write a check on toilet paper, drawn on the Confederate States Treasury, sign it 'U.R. Hooked' and cash it at any bank in town, using a Hong Kong driver's license for identification."

In the world of cricket, Dhoni is conning everyone with his cool demeanor and awkward batting style, it is unbelievably hard to connect all that to a bubbling inner aggression and 50+ batting average. 

But then, the ugly duckling turned out to be a swan finally, didn't it ?!