I am not exactly a great cricket fan or the one who keeps track of every single game statistic at the tip of fingers. But in India, Cricket is not just a sport but a religion. I have seen my dad start up conversation with relatives and others with just What a match yesterday! or something like that. I guess, that is what intriqued me and I started watching cricket from 2011. World cups and IPL were watched and followed regularly at home. Dad and me used to discuss scores and watch matches together. I used to be astonished at how he was so good at umpiring an LBW or a WIDE so soon. There were different ways I followed cricket- sometimes I used to watch ball by ball, but at other times I just viewed scorecards and discussed match results with classmates.

Of course, sometimes I would be so involved in my daily chores and routines, that I wouldn't even notice a major tournament going on. The irony is, even in the peak of tenth and twelfth standards, I followed up cricket. (At least cricinfo commentary or the sports column the next day) But, these days, in college, I don’t. It would take another big article to think about the forgotten hobbies. In the last two years, many tours and series were missed altogether. I would almost completely blame ‘the-extremely-useful-all-controlling-mobile-phone’ for it.

Today I just thought I will remember MSD on his birthday. As soon as I think of Captain Cool, I remember so many things. (Bikes, Dogs, Milk, Ziva's cute pics --- forgive me for leaving out other nicest ones)

Something I really appreciate about Dhoni is his wicketkeeping skills. If I see Team India playing with Blue jerseys, I automatically visualise Dhoni behind the stumps. The way he does stumpings and run-outs astonished me beyond words. Something else I really liked about Dhoni was that, if he appeals for an LBW or a Caught behind, he is so genuine and it is almost surely an Out. He was so unlike countless others, who merely appealed for discouraging the batsman. Maybe many of you might remember so much other things like his helicopter shots, a visual image of him setting the field and his finishing style, but I just noted what really touched my heart. The movie ‘The Untold story’, pops into my mind too leaving me wonder if Sushant was more Dhonier than Dhoni himself (Quoted by my friend)

If any ardent Cricket fan is reading it, do not get disappointed with the lack of 'fine crickety points' or references of CSK. I offer my justification here. First of all, being an inconsistent cricket watcher, I just wrote my first thoughts on seeing the countless statuses and posts on Dhoni today. It's just a momentary compilation of words (not a well-thought out one). And during my school days, I hated to go with the crowd, when everyone likes something, I was indifferent about it. From that time, I was indifferent to CSK and enjoyed when it lost. (It was fun arguing with my dad and watching the match.) While he supported CSK, I supported its opponent impartially. So, CSK fans forgive me for the lack of CSK references. I watch IPL more than any other tournament and I like Dhoni so much too. (But just not CSK)

Actually, the movie ‘M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story’, made me think of something which I had not given much thought before. That movie gave me a sudden insight that behind the confident captain, there was a great struggle to get to that place. Especially from the small town of Ranchi (considering how Mumbai dominates the Indian cricket world). Behind the successful and happy faces, there is always quite a great story. It is always a gentle reminder for us, to realise that every single person high up in ladder, had never gotten there without achieving what seemed impossible.