"Main pal do pal ka shayar hoon, pal do pal meri kahani hai, pal do pal meri hasti hai, pal do pal meri jawani hai (I'm a poet only for a moment or two, my story will last only for a moment or two, my existence will last only for a moment or two and my youth will last only for a moment or two) - these are the lyrics from a really popular Hindi song from the 1976 film 'Kabhie Kabie'. This is the song that the legendary Indian captain MS Dhoni used in an Instagram post on August 15, 2020 to announce his retirement from international cricket, just like that.
A man, a cricket and a legend, who gave a nation and its billions of cricket fans innumerable moments to cherish for lifetime, 'Pal do pal ka shayar' is too modest. But that was and is Dhoni. That's the way he has played his cricket and has conducted himself in 16 years of his international career. "Thanks a lot for ur love and support throughout. From 1929 hrs consider me as retired," Dhoni had captioned the post.
A captain for 334 games across formats, Dhoni defined leadership, what it is to be a genius behind the stumps, what instinctive decisions look like and what it is to be an astute reader of the game. From taking over captaincy from the greats of the game like Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid to making the stars of today, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, Dhoni lived a lifetime in those 15 years and an Indian cricket fan grew.
Dhoni is still the only captain in the world to win all three white-ball ICC titles - T20 World Cup, ODI World Cup and Champions Trophy. He led India in 200 ODIs and the team won 110 out of them. Yes, like anyone and everyone, age caught up with Dhoni as well. His batting and hitting skills took a hit, but the hands still remain the fastest in the east and the sharp mind still works like magic. He still has some cricket left in him at the age of 42 and having led Chennai Super Kings to their fifth title in IPL 2023, he felt obliged to the fans to give it back to them, to play for one more year, just for them.
