Everybody has views in life, says MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni is mobbed by his fans during the inauguration of the MS Dhoni Cricket Academy in Dubai on Saturday.

A storm may be raging back in India but the man who is the subject of it all, is unflustered. He may cease to be the captain, a role he took like a fish takes to water, but MS Dhoni's famed and nonchalant 'Captain Cool' quality came to the fore in Dubai on Saturday.
Former India cricketers Ajit Agarkar and VVS Laxman have questioned Dhoni's future in the T20 format after the series against New Zealand, and that has sparked a debate with current Indian captain Virat Kohli, coach Ravi Shastri as well as Sunil Gavaskar giving a riposte.
And while the topic has lumbered on, the man himself had the opportunity to give his take. And the T20 and 50-over World Cup-winning captain was cool as ever and kept it straight.
"Everybody has views in life and it should be respected," Dhoni said about the criticism.
At 36 and having had a long career, he has won everything there is to be won and Dhoni said that what has kept him motivated is representing India.
"It is representing the country which is the best motivation for me because we play cricket for only a span of time. You can play for one year to 15 years, some play 20 years, but in the life span, let's say you live for 70 years, 10 to 15 years is nothing and that's the only time you can proudly say that I'm representing my country. The biggest motivation is being part of the Indian cricket team," he said.
The humble man from Ranchi went on to be known as the best finisher in the world and he gave an insight into what went through his mind in tense run chases.
"I always feel you have to believe in your abilities and out of the 10 games, if you are winning six or seven that way, then it is the right thing to do. And I've always believed in the fact that process is more important than the result, so, I've not thought about the result, I've always thought about what is the right thing to do at that time, when it is 10 runs needed, 14 runs needed or five runs needed. So, I've always been engrossed with the process that I never took that burden of what if the result doesn't go my way. At the end of the day, once the match gets over, if I look into the mirror and honestly say that I tried my best, then I can accept the result," explained Dhoni.
Dhoni also gave an insight into his patented 'helicopter shot.'
"It is something that I learnt while playing tennis ball cricket in the roads and gullies of India. It is a difficult one and I used to play it in tennis ball cricket but I realized it is very difficult to implement it in a proper cricket game. The reason being, in tennis ball cricket, when you hit from the toe of the bat, the ball travels a lot but in this you can't and you have to hit the middle part of the bat. So, I did a bit of work on that and eventually it fell into place and I started playing that shot," he said.
james@khaleejtimes.com