Dhoni and the art of leaving

Not unlike timing, the 'art of leaving' the ball is very crucial for a batsman when at the crease. And so it is when it comes to leaving that crease, too. But the pull of that little square is so great that even the game's greats have overstayed their welcome.

For close to a decade and a half, M S Dhoni had got his timing right almost always -- be it on the field or off it. While his unorthodox but effective batting and wicketkeeping made him one of the finest players of his generation, his instinctive but calculated moves as a captain were instrumental in many an Indian win across formats. When it came to quitting Tests too, he was on top of his game, announcing his retirement when it was least expected, in December 2014. He was bang on again, when he gave up his limited-overs captaincy at the start of 2017.

With time, Dhoni's dwindling batting fortunes, along with occasional blips behind the wickets, were beginning to become more obvious. But then he was still the best in the business and his expertise on the park - be it setting fields or suggesting bowling changes or his inputs to bowlers - made him integral to an inexperienced Virat Kohli’s plans. It was widely believed that the 2019 50-over World Cup would be his last assignment in India colours, though Dhoni himself never spelled out his future plans.

The World Cup didn't end in a fairy-tale, they seldom do anyway. Whether it was the pain of not getting a perfect swansong or the desire to play one last big event (T20 World Cup in Australia in October this year), Dhoni uncharacteristically hung on. In the meanwhile, even as Indian team engaged itself in several international bilateral series, including limited-over matches, Dhoni took a sabbatical from the game after the semifinal loss to New Zealand in Manchester last July.

A Lieutenant Colonel (Honorary) in the Parachute Regiment unit of the Territorial Army, Dhoni was stationed in the Kashmir Valley as part of Victor Force. He didn't take part in any domestic tournaments (Syed Mushtaq Ali or Vijay Hazare trophies) either. However, with Rishabh Pant not helping his cause, Dhoni remained a potential option for the T20 World Cup.

Missed chance

While skipper Kohli waxed eloquent on his former captain whenever questions were raised about his future, the team's head coach Ravi Shastri hinted that IPL performances would be critical to his return to the national side. That opportunity appears more or less to have slipped away, with the tournament being postponed indefinitely due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dhoni, who will turn 39 this July, last played a match nine months ago, on July 10. By the time of the T20 World Cup, should it happen as per schedule, he would have gone without playing competitive cricket at least 13 months if the BCCI fails to squeeze in even an abridged version of the IPL before that.

It is impossible to pick a player for national duty without proving form and fitness, even if it happens to be a player of Dhoni's stature. And with K L Rahul doing a more than decent job as wicketkeeper-batsman in the shorter formats, Dhoni's chances of one last hurrah seem to have diminished that much.

It will be a travesty if Dhoni, one of the finest and most loved Indian cricketers, doesn't get an opportunity to say goodbye on the cricket field in front of cheering fans. But then Dhoni, the man who pushed several ageing Indian stalwarts into retirement, should himself have known when to leave.