When you amalgamate the traits of a visionary, a leader and a strategist, you discover the very core of Mahendra Singh Dhoni — a game-changing sportsman who under his mentorship steered the Indian cricket team towards multiple laurels. He is one of the greatest cricketers of all time and just watching him on the field, in his element, bringing glory to his country is something every citizen continues to cherish even after his retirement from international cricket.
We got a glimpse of the dedicated and devoted fandom surrounding the cricketer at Prabhav 2023 instituted by Rigi, a SaaS platform for content creators. At the event, hosted at Taj Bangalore, the cricketer indulged in some heart-to-heart conversations with the audience and with that, we discovered a side of the legend that goes beyond the field.
In a rather candid chat, Dhoni finally revealed the reason why he chose to stay away from social media. “On the internet, everyone has an opinion about you and it is not always positive. I have made a conscious decision to stay disconnected. When you don’t read comments or the trolls, you don’t have to think about it and it does not get in the way of your ultimate goals.”
The cricketer was bombarded with questions from all corners but we noticed a sense of awareness and composure on his face that you do not find nowadays and almost instantly we understood why he is called the Captain Cool of India. For the unversed, Dhoni is a master at being unflappable even in the most make-or-break scenarios. He is known for keeping his act together under pressure and much like us, many others in the audience wanted to know how he remains level-headed on the field and otherwise.
“Irrespective of how strong you are, you will feel the same pressure as others. When I find myself at a crossroads, I think of the process that I need to apply to achieve victory. I don’t think whether I scored in the last match or whether I am in form for this one. I just think about what the team needs. And when you have the responsibility to think of others, you think a little less about yourself,” the cricketer shared.
Before wrapping the session, Dhoni revealed that he wants his fandom to last generations but he does not want to be known as just a cricketer. “Once you start playing for the country, you play for 10-15 years and if you start at an early age, then maybe 20. But that is still just 1/3rd of your life. You want your life to be productive and that comes from trying to be the best version of yourself every day. And I want to be remembered as that person. I want to be remembered as a good person,” he concluded.