DHONI 3.0

Memories of his trademark 'helicopter shot' over long-on at the Wankhede still remain fresh. MS Dhoni's unbeaten knock of 91 had helped India lift its second World Cup trophy after a wait of 28 long years. But, since then, MS's fortune has undergone many new turns.

In the early 2000s, Rahul Dravid had adorned the keeper's gloves – to improve team balance and make space for an extra batsman. But, India desperately looked for a permanent fix to this problem to also allow Dravid his due space as a batsman.

During India's tour of Bangladesh in 2004, India called up MS Dhoni as a substitute wicketkeeper ahead of Dinesh Karthik and Deep Dasgupta. MS was run-out before he faced a single ball; but, ever since, grabbing Dhoni's wicket on a run-out has become rare. In fact, he went on to establish himself as one of the best in running between the wickets. During India's next assignment with Pakistan, Dhoni was asked to bat up the order and, though his shots looked unpleasant, his technique was effective as he went on to score his first international century. With this, he establishes himself as India's primary wicketkeeper and one who could be played whenever the team looked to up the ante.

Dhoni's true image was that of a hard-hitting swashbuckling batsman, who had enough venom to clear bowlers out of the park. In a few games, chants of 'Dhoni, Dhoni' became a regular phenomenon every time he walked out to bat.

The younger Dhoni was all about destruction and power. He went on to become the first Indian to hit 200 sixes and his current tally stands at 215 sixes – only behind Shahid Afridi and Chris Gayle. He played the perfect finisher clog in the team comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. But, by then, many greats had reached the autumn of their careers and, in 2007, Dhoni was handed the baton to lead India.

Not many favoured the decision as seniors including Virendra Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh were still around. He though immediately justified the decision by bringing home the inaugural T20 World Cup trophy. Dhoni the powerhouse then became 'Captain Cool'. He had left many pondering over his decisions, particularly in his unconventional bowling choices and awkward fielding positions – but, ultimately, fans were stunned when these peculiar strategies yielded unexpected results.

He led India to the numero uno position in Tests and also brought home the ICC test mace for the first time. In a spotless captaincy career, the ultimate test still lay ahead of Dhoni – the World Cup. Spearheaded by an aging Tendulkar, the team performed as a unit, while Dhoni played the innings of his lifetime in the finals. Indeed, he has been a big match player!

All good things come to an end, and so did India's unprecedented run. It was followed by a deadly abyss. India lost eight consecutive Tests and Dhoni was chosen as the face of criticism. The team slowly gathered its mojo back and, in the 2013 Test series against Australia, Dhoni led from the front and registered a score of 224 – the highest ever by an Indian wicketkeeper – eventually whitewashing the Australians 4-0. In the meantime, he crossed Sourav Ganguly's tally of 21 Test wins to become India's most successful captain.

Later in the year, India stormed into the finals of the Champions Trophy against England. In a rain-inflicted game, India had set England a paltry target of 130 in 20 overs. During the innings break, Dhoni had said. "God is not coming to save us. If you want to win this trophy, you will have to fight this out. Let's show that they have to fight for these 130 runs."

England was cruising when Dhoni handed Ishant Sharma the 17th over. The decision raged Indian fans as Ishant was tonked all around the ground in his first three overs. Ishant stood up and removed the well-set pair of Eoin Morgan (33) and Ravi Bopara (30) off consecutive deliveries and India won the game by five runs. With the victory, Dhoni became the first captain in the world to win all major ICC silverware – the World Cup, the Test mace, the World T20 and the ICC Champions Trophy.

Without any hint, Dhoni retired from Tests midway during the Australian tour in 2014. Age had clearly caught Dhoni and he was now focused on limited-overs cricket.

In the 2015 World Cup, Dhoni's smart captaincy was lauded as he pulled India into the semi-finals before bowing down to the Aussies. Soon after, he handed the captaincy to Kohli and put himself into the pool of players to be selected based on performance.

But, in the last few years, though nothing much has changed in his style or his running abilities, his strike-rate has taken a dip. We are in an era of Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya, and it is quite obvious for people to expect an older Dhoni to be the Dhoni of old times. His near-perfect finishing abilities have suddenly waned and each failure has provoked critics to speak even louder.

Is it time for Dhoni to hang his boots? This seems to be the most discussed matter as India prepares for the World Cup later this summer. And, the emergence of Rishabh Pant – the likely successor of Dhoni behind the stumps – has added further salt to his wounds.

The recently-concluded Australian tour saw the rise of a new Dhoni – Dhoni 3.0. He went on to score three consecutive half-centuries in the three-match ODI series, averaging 193 during the tour. He also duly won the Man of the Series award. But, now, his strike-rate has fallen to a mere 75 runs per 100 balls.

That said, it would not be wrong to play Dhoni as a middle-order batsman rather than a finisher. India does have Hardik, Krunal, Kedar as well as Pant to fulfil the finisher's role.

With his bat, this time, he has shut the critics at least until the World Cup. Given his athleticism behind the stumps, Dhoni undoubtedly remains the best wicketkeeper in the world and a most valuable asset to the team.

He now stands as a strategist behind the stumps, alongside providing sublime cricketing wisdom and mentoring Virat Kohli whenever required. The old Dhoni is lost; and, one cannot expect him to be the same. Yet, what he brings to the team even at the twilight of his career remains unmatched.