WHAT YOU DON’T SEE WHEN YOU SEE DHONI

When he burst onto the scene, Dhoni was a complete unknown, in more ways than one. He was different from anything one might have expected. The long, straightened hair was not a cultivated look but the meaty hitting of a cricket ball with violent power was cultivated. The halting, idiosyncratic English was not aspirational but making a life in cricket was a clearly articulated ambition, to be followed through, come what may. From unknown in 2004 to unknowable in 2020, Dhoni’s international career has played out under intense scrutiny for more than a decade and a half, and when he walked away from the game, whistling a tune to himself, the greybeard left everyone scratching their heads, trying to make sense of what they had witnessed.

Back in 2006 after his first full season as an international cricketer, I sat Dhoni down for an interview. More accurately, Dhoni sat me down for an interview. Those were the days when Dhoni still believed in giving interviews. He was already making a name for himself as a cricketing hermit. Telephones distressed him and he actively distrusted reporters and the role they played in a cricketer’s life. While Dhoni