Being an MS Dhoni fan, among other things, was easy. You’d hardly ever get into debates – like Messi, and to a large extent, Federer fans do. You never had to give an explaination for your devotion and you never had to wait for answers.
Answers, which brings me to the point of this piece. Why is MS Dhoni not retiring? It has been months and we still don’t know the reason behind it.
Now, when I ask why he is delaying his retirement, I don’t come from a place where I want him to. It is not a rhetoric taunt. God knows his fans would want him to play forever.
That’s exactly the issue, though. He is not playing.
Earlier, it was said that he will be there to oversee the transition phase, to make sure that India finds another wicketkeeper-batsman who can fill his shoes.
However, I don’t see him doing that either.
Finding the right wicketkeeper is still a tightrope we are walking, on either side of which are Pant and Saha.
This isn’t typical of Dhoni. The man known for his decision making more than his skills, the man lauded for clarity of thought, more than his shot selection – why is that man not being able to take a call on the issue of retirement?
My love for Dhoni dates back to 2007 and I have seen him doing things that were incomprehensible at the beginning.
And that love begs me to believe that maybe he has a reason this time, as well.
But it has been too long and I don’t appreciate his inaction – or silence. I think his fans deserve to know what’s up. It’s not a match where a stumping will put everything into perspective. This is different, this needs an explanation.
What makes it stranger is, his swift, almost random decision to first retire from Test cricket in 2014, and then give up the captaincy in limited-over-formats in 2017.
There was no hullabaloo about those calls. Well, not until they were made public. It was like, one day he woke up and realised a certain thing wasn’t working out. And he left.
So it’s just unfortunate to see what’s happening now, with his followers asking why he isn’t calling it quits, requesting him to speak up and hoping he gets a farewell fitting of his stature.