Opening Doorz

By Martin D’Souza | Opening Doorz Editorial | October 17, 2019

Karma is a bitch they say. I wonder who coined this phrase. That person will certainly be grinning ear-to-ear as Sourav [Dada, Maharaja, The Skipper who changed the fortunes of Indian Cricket] Ganguly, who has taken the reins as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Chief, decides on October 24, the fate of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. But first, he says, he has to hear what the selectors have to say, since he was not party to Dhoni’s long absence in Indian cricket.

Right now, Dhoni is on a sabbatical, playing “army-army”, as well as taking time off. He knows he has Ravi Shastri as India coach and Virat Kohli as India captain to back him whenever he decides to come back. That seems to be the feeling one gets when one observes from the sidelines. But Dhoni had not reckoned with Sourav coming back and that too as the Chief of India’s Cricket Board!

After Greg Chappell had done what he had to do with Sourav, Dhoni stepped in to rub some more rock salt. You could read in the body language of Sourav, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Anil Kumble. They were “not good fielders” and Dhoni was building a team for the future, just like the late Raj Singh Dungarpur was with Mohammed Azharuddin, who too was in a similar situation surrounded by senior players.

Yes, Dhoni had to take a tough call, but the manner in which the four were sidelined, barring Sachin Tendulkar [Sachin recommended Dhoni’s name for captaincy, you see] was not a good sight to see on television. Sourav was clearly feeling uncomfortable. One could see it in his body language. To his credit, he battled the humiliation and soldiered on till he could. VVS Laxman, retired without announcing his retirement, not wanting to make a fuss of his last Test match. Dravid and Kumble were cleverly edged out from the One-Day team, while Sachin kept the legacy on of older players being given an opportunity to stay ‘alive’.

Right now Virat is the Dhoni and Dhoni is the Sachin. You get what I mean?

But right now, Sourav is in charge and knowing the Maharaja, who waved his jersey on the balcony at Lords, one can be sure that a tough call is on the cards.

If Indian cricket could do without Sourav, Dravid, VVS and Kumble as they aged, so can it without Dhoni.

Yes, Dhoni fans will say he needs to go with respect and a last match.

But Sir, in the end, it is the game that is bigger than the player!

Footnote: Bitch is not necessarily a derogative term. Bitch here is an ‘unpleasant’ thing. Replace it with good or bad intentions and when you see it in perspective you will understand that whatever intentions a person has, it comes back to haunt him or her. In other words, you reap what you sow, more than you sow, later than you sow!

Sourav Ganguly Pic Courtesy: Ram Bherwani

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