When MS Dhoni walked the MA Chidambaram stadium’s wet outfield with his daughter Ziva while preparations for the post-match presentation were on, one couldn’t help but wonder what a conversation between a near 42-year-old father and a just about 8-year-old daughter could be.
But almost oblivious to the 40,000-odd people still waiting for ‘thala’ to talk in the wake of their Qualifier 1 win over Gujarat Titans on Tuesday night, Dhoni and Ziva meandered, occasionally exchanging pleasantries with affable smiles.
It perhaps dawned on those fawning over the father-daughter amble that this could be the last time Dhoni will play in a city which he has made a surrogate home.
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"I don't know, I have eight to nine months to decide, the small auction may be around December, so why take that headache right now?" Dhoni said in the post-match presentation after basking in the adoration shown by the Chennai faithful. "I have ample time to decide.”
"I will always be there for CSK, whether that is in the playing form or sitting somewhere outside...I don't really know. Frankly, it takes a heavy toll. I have been out of home for literally four months. January 31 was when I got out of the house, finished my work, and started practicing from March 2 or 3. It takes a lot, but I have ample time to decide."
Four months out of home when you’re the father of a young family? Four months of hammering down on a bad knee when ‘quick’ recovery is impossible for you’re ageing now? Four months of calculating every single move to ensure one of the most successful teams in the Indian Premier League history remains successful?
Travel, logistics, hotels, late nights, early flights, conversations, mentoring, spotlight, fans….
Sure, grappling with the impact the impending call will have on the city and beyond is unfathomable. Worse still, it’s impossible to see how Chennai Super Kings can stay in that rarefied zone as the team to beat without its leader.
After all, they have made 10 finals and 12 playoffs in 14 editions they have participated and won pretty much everything they have to as a franchise. And it came with teams who didn’t always look good on paper, or on the field at times, but it all came under Dhoni.
It’s not easy being one of the greatest cricket minds of all time, and it’s fortuitous for Chennai that they found him.
It’s unlikely that a culture which prides itself on keeping it local would accept, adore and revere someone from the geographical north, but they did. Better yet, they probably realised in the process that stereotypes are dangerous.
The hermit from Jharkhand has now become synonymous with Chennai, and it won’t be the same when he leaves. But a young daughter needs a father, a young wife needs her husband and Dhoni needs himself.