In an unexpected turn of events, MS Dhoni, despite not actively seeking attention, consistently becomes a topic of discussion on Twitter whenever the Indian cricket team fails to secure an ICC trophy. Dhoni’s ardent fans on Twitter are quick to remind everyone of his remarkable achievements as captain, being the only skipper to have won all three major ICC titles: the T20 World Cup, 50-over World Cup, and the Champions Trophy. While Dhoni’s contributions to Indian cricket are undoubtedly significant, the repetitive nature of these reminders after every tournament has started to become excessive, even for his former teammates.
Following India’s devastating 209-run defeat to Australia in the World Test Championship final, marking India’s ninth consecutive failure in an ICC event, a tweet lauding Dhoni gained massive traction online. It read, “No coach, no mentor, young boys, and most senior players declined to participate. Without any prior captaincy experience, this individual defeated a formidable Australia in the semifinals and clinched the T20 World Cup within 48 days of assuming captaincy.” The tweet referred to Dhoni’s memorable victory in the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup in 2007, which came shortly after India’s disappointing exit from the 50-over World Cup in the West Indies.
As history reveals, Dhoni fearlessly led a squad of young players in that tournament in South Africa, triumphing over formidable opponents like South Africa, England, and Pakistan twice, as well as Australia in the semifinals. Four years later, he achieved another milestone by guiding India to World Cup victory in 2011. Furthermore, he added to his illustrious career by leading India to success against England in the final of the Champions Trophy in 2013, hosted in England.
While these accomplishments are undeniably brilliant, extraordinary, and monumental, Indian cricket has progressed since then. The constant nostalgia surrounding Dhoni tends to do more harm than good in the present context, especially in an era where social media serves as a platform for emotional triggers. Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh criticized the tweet, emphasizing the essence of cricket as a team sport rather than a captain’s game.
Yes when these matches were played this young boy was playing alone from india.. not the other 10 .. so alone he won the World Cup trophies .. irony when Australia or any other nation win the World Cup headlines says Australia or etc country won. But when indian wins it’s said… https://t.co/pFaxjkXkWV
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) June 11, 2023
“In those matches, this young boy was not alone in representing India… the other 10 players were there too. So, it was a collective effort to win those World Cup trophies. Ironically, when Australia or any other nation wins the World Cup, the headlines mention the country’s name. But when India wins, it is attributed solely to the captain. Cricket is a team sport. We win and lose together,” he tweeted.