Mahendra Singh didn't inherit a legacy

Mahendra Singh Dhoni: The Jharkhand Jadoogar

This champion didn't inherit a legacy, instead he has built one, not only for himself but for also the team that plays under him.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni: Fire in the belly, cooking the kookaburra’s goose. With ice.Is the batsman in Mahendra Singh Dhoni bigger than the wicket-keeper in MS Dhoni?

Maybe. You wouldn’t have noticed him when he did the duck walk on debut against Bangladesh in December 2004. Joginder Sharma too got his colours, for the first time, in the same game. Nobody was impressed with Dhoni. Yes. The man went ding dong in Chittagong. Cut to April 5, 2005, when he went bang bang in Vizag. How many of you ran to the salon to get your hair coloured, when he put together a hair-raising 148 against Pakistan?

That shows that the man is bigger than the cricketer. He is head and shoulders above the rest, because his head is firmly screwed onto his shoulders.

Some moons later, he would give the ball to the same Joginder Sharma, taking a call that would change the way India played its cricket. T20 would tee off soon. You probably ran back to the barber, asking him to bleach your hair back to black. As you watched him murder the bowler’s ego, on the T.V set next to the bottle of shampoo, wearing a helmet that didn’t belong to a helicopter pilot, you were told that your hair needed no colour. It was always black. The look on your face when you heard the truth about your keratin, from the barber’s raised eye brows. Just like the bowler who was smacked for a six over mid-wicket off a yorker. With the feet out of the way, as you got off your happy feet, to watch how the ball rose several feet in the air.

Enough about the hair.

So what is the secret behind his magic? Nothing really. It’s being simple without being silly. It's just that you can’t stop yourself from being mesmerized by his actions. The man is confident that he can destroy a bowler’s spell. Dhoni is all about aggression with equanimity. Fire in the belly, cooking the kookaburra’s goose. With ice.

He walks in with a purposeful walk to the crease, places the bat between the pads, as he straps and re-straps his gloves, surveying the field with eyes that betray nothing. The strongly-built shoulders, are rotated in their sockets, to ensure that the loose jersey, fits the frame, before the upper body bends down to work. Bat speed and timing, coupled with the brute power generated by his radius and ulna is the reason, why his bat is feared and loved, by opponents and fans across the world. It can however be said that he is at his best when he is allowed room to play his shots.  The Jharkhand Jadoogar: Aggression with equanimity

Dhoni’s work behind the stumps has ranged from the extraordinary to the ordinary. But he has exceeded expectations, for he always has a helmet and pad on, all day long, both before and behind the stumps. More importantly, it is a spot from which some of India’s biggest triumphs have been conceptualized and executed, with the mind controlling the heart. Be it the 2011 World Cup or the 2013 Champions Trophy, his contribution is something that goes beyond scoring runs, taking catches, and stumping batsmen. One cannot ignore the personality that he brings to the job.

This champion didn't inherit a legacy, instead he has built one, not only for himself but for also the team that plays under him.

Agreed that the duality in the individuality of his roles in the Indian cricket team have been scrutinized by many, but he has done well to keep calm, by keeping to himself when the team has lost. But as Dhoni gets ready to blow the flame off thirty two candles on his birthday cake, it would be wise not to worry about who his successor will be.

Don’t go looking for kid gloves yet, for as long as this hands-on gentleman can keep it up, it can be said that the Indian team is in safe hands. Remember, that it has always been either black or white for Dhoni. He knows that his job is to hit the ball, catch, and bowl with it when the moon decides to wear the blue jersey. When he won, he was chaired. When he lost, some asked him to leave the chair. As this cycle continues, it can be said that the seat is his for keeps. For his feet are always on the pedal.Virat Kohli will have to sit behind him for a little longer.

Happy Birthday.