AHMEDABAD: MS Dhoni is waving his hand, signalling the Chennai Super Kings players to come around. It’s 1.50 AM on Tuesday, about 20 minutes since Ravindra Jadeja sealed the fifth IPL title for CSK. The players are spread around the ground, doing their obligatory interviews with broadcasters and the streaming platforms. Some of them are even on the opposite end of the ground.
Now, watching this unfold from a bird’s eye view at the opposite end of the stands, it makes one wonder what’s Dhoni going to say to them, is he going to say what everyone’s been presuming? However, it was for something else.
The IPL trophy was in front of them and the name of the franchise was being engraved on it. Dhoni wanted the team, especially the youngsters, to be there to see it. In front of him is a camera, capturing the whole thing. As his teammates cheer on from behind with the trophy next to him, an emotional Dhoni signed ‘Mahi’ on the camera before walking away. If there ever was a perfect moment to sign off from someone’s career, irrespective of their profession, it would be just like this. Drop the marker and walk into the sunset.
But Dhoni, who has given farewells to several Indian legends when he was captain, is not one for having a perfect signing off for himself. His international retirements say as much. It would be too “convenient” as he admitted later in a chat with Harsha Bhogle. The roar when he uttered the word ‘but’. After that sentence around 2.50 AM, thousands of fans, at least more than half of those who had turned up, let out a roar. “But the tough thing for me is to work hard for another nine months and come back and play at least one more season of IPL. But a lot depends on the body, I have six-seven months to decide and it will be more like a gift from my side [to the fans]. It’s not easy for me but the way they’ve shown their love and affection, that’s something I need to do for them,” he said.
For someone who has often treated the sport as just another job, this year was different. He admitted welling up with tears when walking out to packed stadiums chanting his name. That is why, this win is different and perhaps even meant a little bit more. With four needed off the final delivery, Dhoni could be seen with his eyes closed, and apparently so was head coach Stephen Fleming who was preparing for yet another “heartbreak”.
When Jadeja got them home, Dhoni broke into a smile, hugged and clapped. You would think that this is regular Dhoni stuff. But as Jadeja did his Imran Tahir-like celebration and eventually came towards him, Dhoni literally lifted him like a father would lift a child. It is hard to remember the last time Dhoni lifted any player after a triumph. He buried his face in Jadeja’s shoulders as the duo cherished the moment that will stay with them forever. This win was indeed special, because unlike the past, CSK did not have things going their way from the moment this tournament began. ”Getting our players of the injury list and into competitive cricket is a challenge and we are not alone, all of teams had injuries. You need a big squad, it is a tough tournament and we really got by the skin and bones to start with it... we had some holes throughout and we were patching up to be as competitive as we could be when the chips were down,” Fleming said.
If they were handling injuries on one sides, managing individuals was on the other. Jadeja himself felt bad for the crowd wanting him to get out just to see Dhoni bat. Shivam Dube wasn’t firing initially. Ambati Rayudu had made no impact despite being an impact player throughout the season. Then, Ajinkya Rahane who hadn’t sustained the momentum. However, the team management made sure they were not under pressure and knew their roles and were backed to the hilt.
Come the big day, the four rose to the occasion. Josh Little? Rahane will hit two sixes. Rashid Khan? Don’t bother? Rahane and Dube clobbered him. The southpaw hit consecutive sixes off the spinner’s last two deliveries to change the tide. Mohit Sharma? Rayudu was there, wielding his willow for the very last time at this level. A first-ball Dhoni duck? Jadeja will take them home. If you’d asked anyone before the final, these four names might not be on the top of their list to do it for Chennai against Titans’ bowling attack. And yet they did, which sums CSK as a franchise and what makes them successful.
Almost 42, Dhoni might decide on his future in the months to come, but that is for later.
Right now, if you asked them what this means to them and the answer would be unanimous. “We dedicate this victory to one of the (most) special members of our team. MS Dhoni. So yeah, this is for him,” as Jadeja said.
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