A person really needs to be something special, achieved something of
real note, or, inspired an entire population, to be mentioned among Time
Magazine’s Top 100 most influential people.
India’s World Cup winning captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, has all of these traits, and then some.
Coming from a modest family, without little political affiliations
that make the difference when it comes to being successful in the
sub-continent, Dhoni defied the odds and made his way to the very
pinnacle of international cricket.
Born on July 7, 1981 in Ranchi, not many could have known that Mahendra Singh Dhoni would one day go on to lead his nation to glory in the sport India follows religiously.
Making his debut against Bangladesh
in Chittagong in 2004 the wicket keeper batsman could not have had a
worse debut. Run out on a duck, Dhoni left almost everyone, apart from
those who knew his abilities, skeptical and critical of the batsman.
The player would go on to prove himself later on and become a stern
fan favourite due to his unique, if somewhat flamboyant, choice of
hairstyle and his superb displays with the bat. Dhoni became a regular
for the side.
His personality and character seemed to impress, as Dhoni was appointed India’s One Day International (ODI) captain after Rahul Dravid resigned on September 8th, 2007. It was the beginning of a new era for cricket in the nation as the side was
slowly maturing into a major force on the world stage.
Dhoni proved his ability to adapt to changing situations in the blink of an eye and led India to the inaugural World T20 Championship in 2007 in South Africa. The dark horses of the tournament, few had given the transitional India side a chance, yet they
went on to win the tournament beating bitter rivals Pakistan in the final.
The name Mahendra Singh Dhoni became an instant household name after
that, as critics became admirers and his fan following multiplied.
There was more to follow in 2008 when he replaced the absent Anil Kumble,
as India’s captain for the Test Series against South Africa. A year
later and Dhoni had taken India to the number one ranking in Test
matches for the first time in the nation’s history.
In the span of 5 years Dhoni had gone from being a nobody, with a
questionable hair cut, to being the side’s ODI and Test captain leading
them to a T20 World Cup trophy and the number one spot in Test rankings.
What was scary was that there was more to come from the inspirational
leader. The inventor of the unorthodox ‘Helicopter shot’ would etch his
name in history as the person, who won the World Cup for his nation
after 28 years. Not only that, but Dhoni did
so in front of his nation on home soil.
While his cricketing abilities are without a doubt among the best in
the world, how often have you heard of a player winning the World Cup
with a six, it was his personality and character that defined him.
Humble, modest, and, quick to give credit where credit is due,
Mahendra Singh Dhoni the person, was just as popularly admired for who
he was as much as how he played.
MS Dhoni
gave his nation hope and made the dreams of its 1.21 billion people
come true, and it is only fitting that TIME acknowledged the player for
his contribution to the game and the world
