Sports Then and Now

As an avid fan of MS Dhoni, I was extremely excited when I heard the news about a film depicting his journey to being one of the best captain in modern limited-overs international cricket. 

Of course, when the official release date was revealed, I couldn’t help but look forward to September 30, 2016. 

I remember watching the film for the first time and being completely engrossed on learning about the life of MS Dhoni and how he rose to become one of the most recognized cricket players in the world. His life story is indeed inspiring and the film greatly made me feel motivated to reach for my personal goals.

The film portrayed the life of the infamous Indian cricket player who was also the former captain of the India national cricket team. On top of that, he is the current captain of the Chennai Super Kings for the Indian Premier League — the most popular sports league in India. 

MS: Dhoni: The Untold Story began with a flashback to 1981 in Dhoni’s hometown. His father, Pan Singh was at the hospital to welcome the birth of his son, who he named Mahendra. 

Fast forward to 14 years later, a cricket coach saw potential in Dhoni while he was goalkeeping for a football match. He invited Dhoni to try out as wicketkeeper for the school’s cricket team. Dhoni impressed the coach and continued to improve on himself until he became a full member of the team. 

Soon after, he stole the limelight and was selected for the Ranji Trophy which unfortunately didn’t work out. Still, he chose not to give up and worked at the Kharagpur Station alongside practising cricket. He started participating in domestic tournaments and obtained a spot in the Railways cricket team for the Duleep Trophy. 

He finally quit his job at the station and convinced his father of his dream to become a professional cricket player. He continued to work hard and eventually became part of the national team and made his debut. 

He started dating an office consultant named Priyanka Jha, who suddenly passed away because of a truck accident. This left Dhoni feeling depressed and was in a bad condition for the 2007 Cricket World Cup. 

As the captain of the national team, he led the team to win the Twenty20 World Cup which brought India to be the highest-ranking in Test matches. 

Dhoni began dating Sakshi Rawat, a hotel official who didn’t recognise him. Eventually, they got married and he began his commenced his training for the 2011 World Cup. The film concludes during the 2011 Cricket World Cup Finals where Dhoni hit a 6 and sealed the victory for his team. 

The film served as a motivational push for me to not give up on my personal dreams. As I watched the movie, I couldn’t help but compare myself to the cricket star. 

In the India cricket matches when Dhoni was captain, he showed exceptional leadership skills. He even led the team to win all three ICC tournaments such as the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup and 2013 ICC Champions Trophy. 

Dhoni had a great run in India cricket matches with a total of 90 Tests, 350 ODIs and 98 T20Is. He also led the Chennai Super Kings to three championship titles at the IPL — the most popular sports league in India.

Unlike other cricket players, Dhoni didn’t come from a privileged background or attended an exclusive cricket academy. Instead, he worked his way up through his passion and determination. He is a great example that no matter where you came from, as long as you have a dream, you can achieve anything. 

Indeed, it is free to dream and the film MS Dhoni: The Untold Story reminded me of that. Dhoni got to where he is now because he had a dream. There may be struggles and obstacles along the way, but, they are only meant to provide an experience meant to give us a lesson. 

Dhoni made me realise that starting from the bottom isn’t such a bad thing. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Starting from nowhere taught him to be humble and encouraged him to work even further. 

This film was the perfect combination of motivational and informational. It was a great way for me to get to know MS Dhoni even further, while also inspiring myself to not give up on my daily struggles. Of course, the process will eventually lead us to the result. 

I remember watching this film and realising that work and practice are key factors to help us reach our dreams. This film reminded me that I shall never lose hope because anything is possible as long as I believe.