India News
Dhoni just won't fit in any other IPL team
Thu, Jul 16 2015 , by K Shriniwas Rao
© BCCI
Just like the helicopter shot that became his signature style and the blue Team India jersey that became synonymous with his unmatched success, there's a connection between MS Dhoni and Chennai that is special. There's simply no Whistle Podu (Blow the whistle) in Tamil Nadu without the man. That's because there's no man who can match Dhoni's swagger, accolade and success. He and Chennai Super Kings have been together far too long  - eight years now  - to think of a disassociation.
The thought of Dhoni representing Kolkata Knight Riders or Delhi Daredevils or Mumbai Indians in the near future is simply unfathomable. In the last eight years, all billboards that he's been on, across the length and breadth of this country, have either been painted blue or yellow. Yellow, the colour that for years famously represented the Super Kings. "The Super Kings have benefitted from Dhoni like no other franchise has from any other cricketer," says a franchise owner.
What about Mumbai Indians and Sachin Tendulkar?
"Well, Tendulkar was for India what Dhoni is for Super Kings. The entire country and the game benefitted from Brand Tendulkar," he adds.
If the suspension of Chennai Super Kings has raised one big question, it is about Dhoni. What will happen to his IPL career if the Super Kings don't return? It's a question on everyone's mind. It's a factor that will probably make franchises rejig their IPL budgets if he ever comes up for auction. Almost everybody's waiting to hear what Dhoni has to say. "It's unlikely that Dhoni will ever leave India Cements," says a leading sports channel executive who's worked with the Team India captain. India Cements is the parent company that owns Super Kings, and Dhoni is employed with the company as one of its vice-presidents.
Every potential investor in Indian cricket, who tracks the tournament. always maintains one single priority  to understand the sentimental value and nature of cricketers who play at the top level. The entire market of cricket, at all times, revolves only around them. "In that context alone, we all remember the way Dhoni retired from Test cricket. Just like that, one day he said he's leaving. No emotions. No drama. Just goodbye," reminds a marketing entrepreneur who also doubles up as a player agent. It is his ability to look at what he wants to do, while he's surrounded by the who's who requesting him to do what they want him to do, is what makes Dhoni special.
"Tendulkar was the only one who could shift focus from one priority to another with such sharpness. You couldn't discuss cricket with him during a commercial shoot and you couldn't discuss commercials with him on a cricket ground. That was him," he adds.
And somewhere close is Dhoni, a man identified with World Cup and World T20 success as much as he's identified as the Super Kings skipper.
"He just won't fit in any other team. It's a question of ideology which began making its way into IPL. India's a country where dialect changes every 200 kilometres. It wouldn't have been easy for a Jharkhand man to live in Tamil Nadu but he's extremely comfortable there. Chennai is his home," says the TV executive.
© TNN
