A selfie with Dhoni as he walks away after his last innings in international cricket

By K.R. Nayar

This piece is not about Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s exploits on the cricket field but happenings involving him that I have witnessed off the field. How I shot the selfie as he walked away after his last innings in international cricket, incidents during his press conferences, and his love for his ardent fans, will forever remain as my fond memories. Enjoy reading!

Selfie with Dhoni from the press box as he walks away with the scoreboard in the background 

Sometimes you get that gut feeling, even if a player may not have announced his retirement, that you may be reporting his last innings in international cricket. There was a lot of talk even before the start of the 2019 World Cup that it might be Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s last tournament as part of Team India. So on July 10, when I walked in to report the Indian innings at the Old Trafford ground in Manchester, something kept telling me that this could be the last time I would be watching one of India’s finest captains and the man who elevated the team to many glorious moments play for India the last time.

I was lucky to get a front-row seat in the press box at Old Trafford for that match. When Dhoni got run out off a throw from Martin Guptill, all hopes of the Indian fans of a victory over New Zealand too ran out. As Dhoni walked back to pavilion with the scoreboard showing 'Dhoni run out for 50', I felt that it may be his last walk away from international cricket. 

Being in the front row, I took a selfie with Dhoni behind me walking back to the pavilion for the last time. And this selfie will remain as the most precious selfie because what I shot was the end of an era in Indian cricket. Before he disappeared into the pavilion, I got up from my seat to pay my respects to this cricketer’s great service to the game.

When typing the lines “Mahendra Singh Dhoni, known for his ability to keep emotions and calmness under control, walked back to the pavilion in tears,” for my match report, I felt emotional too. My next line of that report was: “Stunned and numbed, many refused to leave their seats, some used the flag they had wrapped around themselves to wipe their tears. Since the majority of the spectators were Indians, even the New Zealand players were reluctant to celebrate their victory chances in front of a totally depressed crowd.”

In my history of reporting cricket, only twice before have I stood up to pay my respects when legendary cricketers have walked off for the last time. First was when Brian Lara walked off from the game after playing his last innings in the Super Eight match of the 2007 World Cup at Kensington Oval, Barbados. Incidentally,  Lara, too like Dhoni, was run out in his last innings. The next instance was when Sachin Tendulkar bid farewell to the game after scoring 74 runs at the Wankhede Stadium in November 2013. That day the whole stadium stood up and remained standing with everyone looking towards the dressing room even though the match continued. It seemed like everyone was not satisfied seeing Tendulkar.

My one-to-one interview when Dhoni had long hair

A lot has been written about Dhoni’s contribution to the game but here are some moments with him off the field that will live on forever. I consider myself fortunate to have reported some of Dhoni’s many great moments in cricket. I've also had a long one-to-one interview with him when he had his trademark long hair before he stopped talking individually to any journalist. Those days, he would never counter-questions journalists as well.

When Dhoni made an Australian journalist sit next to him following a question on his retirement

I was witness to him pull up an Australian journalist seated next to me at the press conference after India crashed out of the 2016 T20 World Cup in Mumbai when he asked Dhoni about his retirement plans. Dhoni requested him to come to the stage and sit next to him. With his counter-questions to the journalist, he got him (journalist) to say that he was fit enough to play for many more years.  

During a pre-match press conference at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Bangladesh, he had to assume the role of a mike tester for the television crew. As soon as they requested him to test their audio signal, he enacted the role well mimicking a technician, saying "mike testing, hello, hello," with his characteristic smile.

Ram Babu, the die-hard Dhoni fan from Chandigarh

Dhoni never forgets his die-hard fans. Ram Babu from Chandigarh makes sure to travel everywhere Dhoni plays in India or in any of the sub-continent countries, if he was able to garner the money to travel.  “Once, during the ICC World Twenty20 in Bangladesh, I fell sick and Dhoni came to know about it,” said Babu, who works as a warehouse security guard when he is not following Dhoni around the world. “Dhoni contacted me and put me on to the best available doctor there. He asked me to go back home but I did not and returned only after the final.”

Mohammad Bashir, another Dhoni fan known also as Chacha Chicago

Mohammad Bashir, a Pakistan-born cheerleader who lives in Chicago and is popularly known as 'Chacha Chicago'  is another of his ardent fans. I met Bashir in Melbourne during the ICC 2015 World Cup. During a practice session, I was witness to embracing him and inquire about his health. Bashir is a heart-patient and a diabetic, but he makes sure to travel and watch Dhoni in action. “For me, cricket is the best medicine. Dhoni gifted me a bat before the Asia Cup final in Bangladesh. When I told him that I would be coming for the Twenty20 World Cup, he called his manager and told him to make sure I had tickets for every venue,” said Bashir.

It is not Babu or Bashir alone who will miss Dhoni; the whole cricketing world will miss him. While there has been numerous debates over Dhoni's retirement for a few years now, I am reminded of one of his statements in his one-to-one interview to me: “I did not dream of becoming an international cricketer. All I wanted was to play cricket all the time.” For such a person, to stop playing will be the toughest decision. Right now, let us get ready to watch Dhoni in the UAE during IPL and hope he continues to play for many more years even if it is without his pet helicopter shot.