When Pan Singh Dhoni migrated from the Himalayan foothills of Uttarakhand (then Uttar Pradesh) to Ranchi for joining ranks at MECON as a pump operator, he would have not thought how immense his decision would be in the years to come. When his third child was born on July 7, 1981 in the MECON Hospital, the very child held keys to a bright future which went beyond the four walls of his own house. He was christened Mahendra Singh Dhoni and we all know the kind of glory he brought not just for his family but for a wider family of Indians, just about 1.3 billion in numbers.
Dhoni was admitted to the DAV Jawahar Vidya Mandir, a school which was a stone’s throw distance from his father’s company-allotted flat. What stood in between his home and the school was a patch of green that would help him shape his destiny on the cricketing fields in the years to come. This patch of green was called the MECON Stadium which had a centre cricketing pitch and four stands at the corners of the ground to make it good enough for State Ranji Cricket, inter-district and inter-school cricket in the winter season.
Dhoni used to attend school from 8 am in the morning to 1.30 in the afternoon. After that, he used to scamper home for a quick lunch accompanied by a glass of milk. This was followed by a quick revision of the concepts and lessons he learnt at school that day up to around 3 pm. MECON Stadium and the adjoining school ground used to be his calling place after that where the young kid used to do goal-keeping in the myriad football games that used to take place there.
It was the school PT Teacher, Sri Keshav Ranjan Banerjee who turned our rising goal-keeper into one of the safest hands behind the cricket pitch as a wicketkeeper in those years and we all came richer for it. The young Dhoni’s game was characterized by a Yeoman’s spirit and refreshing edge which is a rare talent found in few kids. The school teachers of DAVJVM could recount many of his exploits on the field with the mischievous act of breaking window panes of the school classrooms which stood nearby. The six-hitting capability of Dhoni was exemplified by his strength of arms and able help from his best friend in childhood, Santosh Lal. It was Santosh who taught the young Dhoni the basics of the now world-famous Helicopter shot. Pivoted on the front foot and taking the bat in a 270-degree arc towards long on, this shot not just aided Dhoni in making his rise first from club cricket, district and state cricket but also helped him score the winning runs in the final of ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 against Sri Lanka.
The youngster of DAVJVM who plied his art with elan in the MECON Stadium came of age in the years to come and first represented Bihar in the Ranji Trophy in 1999. We all know about his travails up to his eventual selection for India in 2004 when he worked as a TT in the Indian Railways and played in myriad tennis ball leagues around East India. And when he did make his debut for India, we as cricket fans around the country drew immense inspiration from his exploits as a wicketkeeper-batter and his role as a leader of men who led us to wins in two World Cups in 2007 and 2011, and a Champions trophy in 2013.
The soil of his beloved Ranchi which shaped his career and will always breathe for its favourite son couldn’t help but be happy with Dhoni’s rise through the ranks.
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