The Calmness Even after a storm
It has been four days since I had witnessed something inspiring for me from a man who would often call it as just another day at work.
Mixed feelings and emotions run through my mind as I try to pen down the thoughts on this man - how can someone ever do justice with mere words?
For a 36 year old man, who is at the prime of his fitness running across the 24 yards like a bullet, it is just next to difficult to decipher what actually runs inside the helmet and under his cranial.
As an ardent Indian cricket team fan, like many others I started watching this game when Sachin was taking this country's pride on his shoulders, I think I was about 5 years old when the Sharjah cup desert storm match happened, when my entire apartment was glued to one small TV in a 10X10 room, and we kids in the flat would watch one over in my home and when the commercial break used to come, much like how these days we logon to Facebook to update a 'cool' status shouting our opinion, me and my friends would run to the next flat before the commercials get over. Those were real fun days where who reached the other house first mattered more than the "likes" we get on Facebook today.
I was really young to understand the match fixing scandal because I didn't want to believe it first, and the jokes that used to come in the riddles corner - " boy 1: let us three play cricket - I'll be the bowler, you be the batsman and he'll do umpiring.
Boy 2: then who will be the match fixer"
Elderly people in the family used to laugh at those jokes and this topic became a topic in all social gatherings.
I adored Steve Waugh as a captain, partially attributing to the way Australians kept winning and also the Waugh brothers name was catchy and whenever we played Trump cards, the person getting any Australian player would win that round unless the other person had the little master.. of course!!
I mentioned about Steve waugh because the importance of a leader to a team was something that never struck me until early 2000s.
I don't remember the date, but it was on a Tuesday night when India and England clashed when the entire nation knew we were going to lose the moment Sachin got out. I used to play for a cricket club and Wednesday used to be Yoga days.
This day was a beginning of a stage where the mentality to think beyond Sachin creeped in. We were in a shock, surprise, Happy, when we understood and discussed about how India won, how UV and Kaif were the heros, because it gave the nation a belief to think beyond Sachin. Mind you while all these were happening, there was a silent spectator, a dark Knight - Rahul Dravid
For an average 90s born kid, to accept and get in terms that Indian cricket is beyond the little master and there is a team behind, took close to 14 years time for the acceptance to make sense.
There was always a pride in being compared to Sachin, but not so much when being compared to others while we street Cricket was not an app, but actually played on streets.
A new era was born, we started facing the opponents without fear, we had the guts to make an Australian Captain wait for the toss, we never let anyone take us for granted and here was a team which was built by Ganguly after all the scandals which put the team down the guts with media reports slashing everyone.
While The finals defeat at the 2003 world cup, still won many hearts for the efforts, the debacle at 2007 world cup left us with a lot of heart breaks.
Was the era fading?
Have we all grown up?
The long haired lad from Jharkhand who was until then known for his famous hair style, and abilities to finish games with his power hitting, came to the foray. The big 3 left out of the team for the first time in close to three decades and who does this? A man who was backed by Ganguly to be picked to the LOI, backed by Sachin to be selected as the captain, becomes the captain and wants the big three out. I can still recollect the anger, frustration, furiousness I had when I was watching the flash news on NDTV repeatedly on this.
Little did I know it was beginning of the time to observe how important is a leader to a team.
Over the next ten years there has been a great learning for me and I'm sure many would be in the same category as I'm, finding words to appreciate this man.
2007 T20 world cup : the one big tournament which made us all to change our thinking hats and look at things from his perspective.
He had the courage to drop the seniors because he felt fielding will be really crucial in a t20 game and these aging heros might not be a 'great fit'. With this he also taught us how is it important to stand by our belief and take calculated risks, how often do we take calculated risks?
The last over to Joginder Sharma, while the experts would have recommended to go with a lead spinner - the Jharkhand lad 'felt' that batsmen would slog and we need a fast bowler who could be good worth slower ones, nevertheless Joginder was anyway bowling slow.
How often does even organizations believe in the ability to trust a junior over a senior for a job?
When the team was going through a lean patch and when there were arrows pointing at him, I still remember his words, " the easiest thing to do for me is to step aside from the captaincy and accept failure but the end goal is to build this team for the next world cup and I don't want to run away from my responsibilities" and mind you he always knew and understood his body. When there was an ongoing series - he stepped away from test cricket and focused on ODI and t20.
Everything was really admirable and most of the successful leaders would possess these, so what's the big deal?
The biggest learning came after CSK was removed which broke many hearts and he moved to a new team and the way the owners treated him and made him play under a foreign Captain. Who would have imagined? This is when I observed that he is a person with absolutely zero ego attitude.
So, who is a leader?
One who can identify, mould and build his team and find another leader and move when there is enough time in the battle to prepare for the war so that the new leader takes charge.
And he did just that...
Leader is not someone who always out performs this team, the goal is to make his team outperform the other teams..
And he did just that..
Leader is someone who plays to the strength
And he did just that..
Leader is someone who trusts the team and believes in nurturing and backing up when the outside world doesn't..
And he did just that.
Now we all look beyond Sachin...
We all look beyond Kohli..
We all look beyond Dhoni...
We don't expect a Dravid to save the game every time, because we know the importance of not giving up till the last ball.
We wait till the last ball is bowled cause we know patience is a virtue which will win us and we all accept failures as a part and parcel.
We all respect sports now as it is supposed to be respected..
A leader is one whose absence will be felt more than the presence being appreciated.
And he just did that..
Finally,
A leader can be anyone who rises to the situation and drive the team home, one who commands the respect from the opponents and one who has values in life.
And he just did that..
Leader is not about a designation or a tag, it is about not taking all the limelight but being there when needed the most.
And he just did that...
Dhoni - one of the best Leaders out there!
 |
| Image Courtesy -Google Images |
For a 36 year old man, who is at the prime of his fitness running across the 24 yards like a bullet, it is just next to difficult to decipher what actually runs inside the helmet and under his cranial.
As an ardent Indian cricket team fan, like many others I started watching this game when Sachin was taking this country's pride on his shoulders, I think I was about 5 years old when the Sharjah cup desert storm match happened, when my entire apartment was glued to one small TV in a 10X10 room, and we kids in the flat would watch one over in my home and when the commercial break used to come, much like how these days we logon to Facebook to update a 'cool' status shouting our opinion, me and my friends would run to the next flat before the commercials get over. Those were real fun days where who reached the other house first mattered more than the "likes" we get on Facebook today.
I was really young to understand the match fixing scandal because I didn't want to believe it first, and the jokes that used to come in the riddles corner - " boy 1: let us three play cricket - I'll be the bowler, you be the batsman and he'll do umpiring.
Boy 2: then who will be the match fixer"
Elderly people in the family used to laugh at those jokes and this topic became a topic in all social gatherings.
 |
| Image Courtesy- Google Images |
I adored Steve Waugh as a captain, partially attributing to the way Australians kept winning and also the Waugh brothers name was catchy and whenever we played Trump cards, the person getting any Australian player would win that round unless the other person had the little master.. of course!!
I mentioned about Steve waugh because the importance of a leader to a team was something that never struck me until early 2000s.
I don't remember the date, but it was on a Tuesday night when India and England clashed when the entire nation knew we were going to lose the moment Sachin got out. I used to play for a cricket club and Wednesday used to be Yoga days.
 |
| Image Courtesy - Google Images |
For an average 90s born kid, to accept and get in terms that Indian cricket is beyond the little master and there is a team behind, took close to 14 years time for the acceptance to make sense.
There was always a pride in being compared to Sachin, but not so much when being compared to others while we street Cricket was not an app, but actually played on streets.
A new era was born, we started facing the opponents without fear, we had the guts to make an Australian Captain wait for the toss, we never let anyone take us for granted and here was a team which was built by Ganguly after all the scandals which put the team down the guts with media reports slashing everyone.
While The finals defeat at the 2003 world cup, still won many hearts for the efforts, the debacle at 2007 world cup left us with a lot of heart breaks.
Was the era fading?
Have we all grown up?
The long haired lad from Jharkhand who was until then known for his famous hair style, and abilities to finish games with his power hitting, came to the foray. The big 3 left out of the team for the first time in close to three decades and who does this? A man who was backed by Ganguly to be picked to the LOI, backed by Sachin to be selected as the captain, becomes the captain and wants the big three out. I can still recollect the anger, frustration, furiousness I had when I was watching the flash news on NDTV repeatedly on this.
Little did I know it was beginning of the time to observe how important is a leader to a team.
Over the next ten years there has been a great learning for me and I'm sure many would be in the same category as I'm, finding words to appreciate this man.
2007 T20 world cup : the one big tournament which made us all to change our thinking hats and look at things from his perspective.
He had the courage to drop the seniors because he felt fielding will be really crucial in a t20 game and these aging heros might not be a 'great fit'. With this he also taught us how is it important to stand by our belief and take calculated risks, how often do we take calculated risks?
The last over to Joginder Sharma, while the experts would have recommended to go with a lead spinner - the Jharkhand lad 'felt' that batsmen would slog and we need a fast bowler who could be good worth slower ones, nevertheless Joginder was anyway bowling slow.
How often does even organizations believe in the ability to trust a junior over a senior for a job?
When the team was going through a lean patch and when there were arrows pointing at him, I still remember his words, " the easiest thing to do for me is to step aside from the captaincy and accept failure but the end goal is to build this team for the next world cup and I don't want to run away from my responsibilities" and mind you he always knew and understood his body. When there was an ongoing series - he stepped away from test cricket and focused on ODI and t20.
Everything was really admirable and most of the successful leaders would possess these, so what's the big deal?
The biggest learning came after CSK was removed which broke many hearts and he moved to a new team and the way the owners treated him and made him play under a foreign Captain. Who would have imagined? This is when I observed that he is a person with absolutely zero ego attitude.
So, who is a leader?
One who can identify, mould and build his team and find another leader and move when there is enough time in the battle to prepare for the war so that the new leader takes charge.
And he did just that...
Leader is not someone who always out performs this team, the goal is to make his team outperform the other teams..
And he did just that..
Leader is someone who plays to the strength
And he did just that..
Leader is someone who trusts the team and believes in nurturing and backing up when the outside world doesn't..
And he did just that.
Now we all look beyond Sachin...
We all look beyond Kohli..
We all look beyond Dhoni...
We don't expect a Dravid to save the game every time, because we know the importance of not giving up till the last ball.
We wait till the last ball is bowled cause we know patience is a virtue which will win us and we all accept failures as a part and parcel.
We all respect sports now as it is supposed to be respected..
A leader is one whose absence will be felt more than the presence being appreciated.
And he just did that..
Finally,
A leader can be anyone who rises to the situation and drive the team home, one who commands the respect from the opponents and one who has values in life.
And he just did that..
Leader is not about a designation or a tag, it is about not taking all the limelight but being there when needed the most.
And he just did that...
Dhoni - one of the best Leaders out there!
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