SHUBI ARUN: This CSK campaign has been one big farewell tour. The crowds want him out there not to revel in his greatness, but to pay their respects to him. All they crave is a chance to say goodbye
Being a stadium announcer at Indian Premier League games isn't a straightforward gig.
It goes beyond just confirming who the next batter at the crease is or which bowler has been brought into the attack. From coordinating Mexican waves to starting chants to deciding when to blow the inimitable IPL horn, the stadium announcer is the Master of Vibes. The players create the music but there is no doubt over who dictates the rhythm the crowd dances to.
It's a high-energy role that at its core, is about reading the room. But, a strange thing took place in Jaipur last week, when Rajasthan Royals hosted Chennai Super Kings.
Set 203 to chase, CSK were under the pump going into the final few overs. The asking rate was nearing 20 and they were five wickets down. Smelling blood, the stadium announcer at the Sawai Mansingh began a case and response chant: "WE WANT…"
"DHONI," came the reply from the febrile crowd.
The announcer was momentarily thrown off; he'd expected the crowd to say ‘WICKET'. He recovered quickly and tried again: ‘WE WANT….'
The same response followed again. This time, even louder.
There can be no doubt about the focus at CSK matches in 2023 (SAJJAD HUSSAIN/AFP via Getty Images)
Nevermind that a win would send their team above CSK on the table, the Jaipur crowd had no qualms in admitting who they were really here to see.
In hindsight, the announcer shouldn't have been surprised. MS Dhoni fervour has been off the charts this year. Irrespective of where CSK play, there's a sea of yellow in the stands. Irrespective of who else is playing, crowds just want to see him.
While there has been no official confirmation, this season is widely expected to be Dhoni's last. The biceps belie his age but at 41, even he must know that helicopters can't escape time.
This CSK campaign has been one big farewell tour. The likes of Devon Conway, Mooen Ali and Ravindra Jadeja have all just felt like opening acts. Warm up the crowd, throw your bat around but leave enough on the board for Dhoni to come in and save the day. But alas, the Chennai top-order has done far too good a job.
Out of Chennai's nine completed games so far, Dhoni has batted in six and faced just 35 balls. When he has got the chance, he's played back the hits - hitting eight sixes while achieving a strike rate of 211. In their last game against Punjab Kings, he came out to bat in the last over and scored 13 off four.
But even if Dhoni were to defend every ball and leave everything even slightly outside off, the din preceding his arrival wouldn't fall by even a decibel. Ultimately, what he does in the middle at this point is irrelevant. The crowds want him out there not to revel in his greatness, but to pay their respects to him. All they crave is a chance to say goodbye. They were robbed of the chance to do so when he retired from international cricket three years ago.
The final act of Dhoni's India career (OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)
A four-minute Instagram video of images from his career soundtracked to a melancholic Hindi song from the 1970s accompanied by the caption - 'thanks a lot for ur love and support throughout. From 1929 hrs consider me as Retired'. It wasn't a retirement announcement as much as it was a mic-drop.
The announcement was accompanied by the crushing realisation that his last game in blue had been the 2019 World Cup semi-final loss to New Zealand. Dhoni's 50 of 72 balls was a tough watch; his run-out towards the end is as seared into the memory of Indian cricket fans as the World Cup-winning six in 2011. The fact that he was okay with bookending his career with that innings tells you all you need to know about Dhoni's character.
In many ways, the abruptness of his retirement shouldn't have come as a surprise. This is, after all, a man who retired from Test cricket in the middle of a series in Australia in 2014.
It's what makes his swansong with Chennai so intriguing. It displays a sentimentality that has been conspicuous in its absence from his international career.
Think back to the function in 2018 that marked CSK being reinstated to the IPL after a two-year ban. Reflecting on his bond with the franchise, Dhoni was so overwhelmed by emotion that Suresh Raina went up and handed him a bottle of water. The thunderous welcome he received when he walked out onto the ground for Chennai's first training session that year showed just how deep this relationship ran.
This season is expected to be Dhoni's last in the IPL (SAJJAD HUSSAIN/AFP via Getty Images)
The triumph in 2021 felt like the perfect time for Dhoni to hang up his boots. He'd just led the Dad Army to an unlikely title, just a year after finishing out of the playoff spots for the first time in their history. But he pushed away retirement talk and stated that he'd like to play his final T20 game in Chennai.
The story continued but the runs had dried up a long time ago. In the last three years, Dhoni's strike rate hasn't gone above 123 and he averages 16. There's an undeniable shade of vanity to the prolonged goodbye but given his stature and scale of success, it's a flaw fans are more than happy to turn a blind eye to.
Hero worship is a feature of Indian cricket fandom. The emotions Sachin Tendulkar evoked were near-spiritual. His greatness felt humbling.
Virat Kohli drew something more visceral; he sparked a fire that you didn't know existed, an animalism hidden underneath.
But, Dhoni was different. It was a relationship marked by trust; he made you feel safe. Dhoni was a devotion. Just his presence brought comfort. It's what thousands of fans are pouring into stadiums want to feel once again.
Chennai adopted Dhoni and the rest of the country has adopted Chennai.
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