First time I saw MS Dhoni

Rising Sensation : Mahi

In 2007, Dhoni had become the national heartthrob after the first T20 Cricket World Cup win in the last over. Like many other cricket fans, I had also started following his innings without a miss. And I took this fever to another level by bringing out a 4 ft poster of Mahi flying his bat and sporting that famous hairstyle after the knock of 183 runs. Sitting in my chair in the study room and enjoying a few moments of idolizing, I never thought that I would ever get a chance to see him before he hangs up his boots.

Two years later, I got admission for Masters in the same city, Ranchi, the hometown of our hero, Dhoni. Now, there was a new charm on my face. I was happy, thinking that maybe someday I would get to see him. He is known for roaming around on his bikes around the city, so chances were still there. However, the initial days away from family and managing academics blurred my sight of him for a year or so.

My Stay at Ranchi

Those days, I was staying with friends in a flat in Ranchi. We were around eight to ten boys covering the first floor of a building. There lived one senior of ours who was doing his MBA and preparing for government jobs too. He was the only one in the building who had a bike. One day, when we didn’t receive lunch, I accompanied him for lunch to a nearby Dhaba. During our discussion over lunch, the topic of our hero came up. He told me that he knew where Dhoni’s current house is. Then, he shared a story about someone he knew who had the chance to meet Dhoni in Ranchi at some boys’ hostel or lodge during his initial years of cricket.

A few days later, in the evening, when we had nothing much to do, I asked our senior to show me Dhoni’s house in Harmu, which he accepted. We visited Dhoni’s house on his bike, and now I had a new idea in mind. I thought that every now and then, when I would be free between semesters, I would visit Dhoni’s house whenever he was in town. And who knows, this way, someday I might get a chance to see him. However, this never happened, and I never visited his house again.

A very dim opportunity to see Mahi

One day, we got to know that the 34th National Games were going to be held in Ranchi, and a multi-sports complex was getting ready on the outskirts of Ranchi. Again, on a free day, I accompanied our senior to this new stadium in Khelgaon on his bike. When we were returning, he said, “Dekhna, Dhoni bhi aayega, uske hometown mein ho raha hai.”

A few months went by, and the next year the 34th National Games started. “Chhaua,” the mascot for this year’s national games, made an aerial entry, adding to the excitement. Ranchi was making headlines nationwide for the various sports competitions taking place. My friends and I also made our way to the stadium. The stadium was massive, with numerous sports competitions happening in different complexes. We were equally excited and visited many of these sports events. A few snacks and cold drinks were our only solace that day. After a whole day of visiting different sports complexes, we were tired. However, there was still no sight of Dhoni anywhere, so I left the stadium feeling hopeless.

The next day, many of our friends didn’t join us at the stadium, so there were only three to four of us today. We were watching a few sprinters practicing in another complex. As the sun was still out, we were changing our seats frequently. That’s when I saw someone on the large screen. The moment I realized who he was, the whole stadium erupted into noise, chanting “Dhoni, Dhoni.” My joy knew no bounds then. For the next fifteen to twenty minutes, whenever he appeared on the screen, I also joined the crowd in making noise. I was at one end of the stadium, and he was at the other end, so there was still no clear sight of him.

That Day finally came

By now, I had no intention of leaving without seeing him up close. As evening approached, most of the sports competitions had ended for the day, but I was reluctant to leave the place. A few of my friends departed from the stadium, but I remained, waiting at the exit gate. Two hours had passed, and still, there was no sign of Dhoni coming outside. Frustrated with the crowd obstructing my view, I spotted a large hump of soil in the corner of the wired area. I quickly jumped onto it to get a better vantage point of the exit door. Fifteen minutes went by, and it was around 8 P.M when I finally saw him emerging from the exit gate. The crowd went wild upon seeing him, chanting his name and making noise. With a smile, he waved his hand towards us and walked to his SUV.

He was accompanied by the Deputy Chief Minister of Jharkhand, who was also his friend those days. I counted the number of vehicles that ran in speed behind their SUV that day. It was a total of twenty-four vehicles of security persons, politicians and might be his friends who left the place.

At that moment when he came out of the exit gate and waved his hand towards us, I found myself ten to twenty meters away from him. Despite the excitement around me, I didn’t make any noise or shout his name for attention. Instead, I simply observed him in happiness, silently cherishing the sight of him until he was no longer visible to my eyes.

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