Published: Feb 19, 2016, 02:24 PM (IST)
Edited: Feb 19, 2016, 04:03 PM (IST)
Every sportsman reaches an age where nothing but absolutely impeccable performances match after match will keep the naysayers at bay. The world seeks to breathe down the necks of those who par this threshold in terms of an imaginary age line. Even a single underperformance evokes a flood of opinions from fans and media calling for the necks of these players. Irrational as it may be, not many coaches or management come out in strong defence of these under-fire players. Ravi Shastri has made a strong example by his vehement defence of MS Dhoni. RELATED: MS Dhoni will hang boots when the time is right, says Ravi Shastri
At 34, nearing 35, Dhoni finds himself in an undesirable situation where there is a sword hanging over his head at every point. There is a critic prowling in every corner and given the density of India‘s population and the cricket madness that runs through the country’s veins, those critics have a collective appetite to bash a cricketer, far greater than in any other country.
Criticism is good, be it in the field of cricket of otherwise. It is what keeps people of power at bay. Deprive the society of the option to criticise and you end up with something like the tyranny, that is North Korea. However, it is a double-edged sword. ALSO READ: Why is MS Dhoni even being expected to forget all memories of Chennai Super Kings?
Some of these so-called critics surface with the sole purpose of shredding a player. And once a player crosses a certain age limit, the frequency and intensity of these irrational criticisms surges dramatically. Dhoni is at that stage in his career now, drawing fiery flak for every little misstep he takes.
Dhoni, being the calm-headed, resolute person he is, has not let these verbal daggers submerge him. However, not all are gifted with this uncanny ability to constantly wade through the slush of vengeful words. Perhaps, Michael Clarke would have had a career of greater longevity, had he systematically dissipated the verbal volley flung at him… perhaps.
Regardless of the disposition of players in their ability to self-shield from these spiteful comments and verbose, there is a need to stand up for them. The onus falls on the backstaff to make this defence. Their duties as support-staff are limited not only to the field and Shastri understands that.
Hence when he was asked, by Hindustan Times, about Dhoni’s recent dip in form (not deserving of the amount of backlash he incurs for it), Shastri said, “India should feel lucky they have had someone doing that job for so many years and like a champion. That’s why when he gets the flak, I get really annoyed because he deserves respect for what he has contributed to Indian cricket.”
Shastri has done the right thing by standing up for Dhoni at a time when the latter is being faced with a constant in-flow of unreasonable condemnation. Support staff from across the world must take cue and defend their senior players with an equally vehement passion.
(Rishad D’Souza, a reporter with CricketCountry, gave up hopes of playing Test cricket after a poor gully-cricket career. He now reports on the sport. You can follow @RDcric on Twitter)
