I enjoy Peter Roebuck’s writing, but this is taking things a little far, don’t you think? Talking about MS Dhoni, he says:
He came to cricket as might a passenger at a train station, reached captaincy, runs, fame and riches not as some ruined child or as a street urchin destined to cover himself in bracelets but as a grounded and gritty young man for whom wealth was a consequence and not an aim. He wanted to rise, but on his own terms; he was not hungry enough to sell himself short. He is Obama in white clothes.
Granted, India have beaten Australia 2-0 – a superb, seismic win given Australia’s dominance for so long, though India has been an incredibly difficult place for tourists to win for yonks. And, yes, Dhoni is a seriously impressive, composed, grounded character with a Gilchristian urge to entertain. But to say he is Obama in white clothes overstates Dhoni’s influence and underplays Obama’s feat.
I am so embarrassed for Peter, I feel like buying him the burqa. I did like his writing when he asked for Punter to be sacked and Katich to be made captain (insulted Punter and embarrassed Katich in one fell swoop) but everytime he talks about Indian cricketers.. he uses (stock) phrases like “Sikh warrior”, “one bedroom flat”, “pump operator’s son” (feel free to replace “pump operator” with any other working-class profession)
It is soooo patronizing that its nausea-inducing.
And yes Dhoni is a good captain, but an Obama he is not.
I agree with the idea that Roebuck is taking it a bit too far. I think it is hard for non-Americans to truly appreciate what Obama’s election really means in the context of US history and society as being a game-changer who had to overcome the establishment. Dhoni while a good player, has sort of been the shoe-in in the wake of Ganguly being sacked and the while unpleasant Chapell-era of Indian cricket. Dhoni is admirable in that he has a maturity that his age belies and he is willing to stick to his instincts, but for the most part, he was the clear inheritor of the captaincy. In that sense Pietersen is comprable to Dhoni, both being younger members who were able to re-energize their teams after a lot of ugly politick-ing.
I agree it is over the top – but he is in synch with a of the general public. many of my indian friends who are staying here in the US feel the same way.
Unfortunately – and it pains me as a long time fan of Peter Roebuck – his form reminds me of David Boon’s last spell as a test cricketer. Glimpses of form, but then he goes and shows dreadful judgment and leaves a ball, only to see off stump go cart wheeling.
This tendency seems to emerge especially when India are involved, for whatever reason.
i agree wid roebuck to some extent who wud hav considred dhoni to reach this far when he entered the so called fab 4 yuvraj sehwag he left them all behind and he doesn’t even come from a cricket playing state (jharkhand)
his rise is unbilievable
A truly silly comparison. I wonder if he’ll see any KP paralells if David Cameron wins the next general election here.
Mind you, don’t you get the feeling that Barak Obama, given the right opportunities, could become a cricket lover? I think it’s worth a try, and I daresay Alan Stanford will be doing just that. Hmm.
Cricinfo is a part of my life.Roebuck is not.I read that article too.It’s over the top but has its heart in the right place.
Dhoni’s dad is a Rajput from what was UP now is ‘Uttarakhand’,moved to Ranchi & yes his dad was a pump operators son though I don’t like his terminology either.
Dhoni was a ticket-collector in Ranchi.Played on no-grass grounds that young english boys would never see in their worst nightmares.Its like the Kanpur pitch against SA earlier this year extended radially to form a ground.No wonder he chose to keep.There was no competetion for him.It is said competition makes you tougher.
Railways is a good Ranji team in india.Dhoni had gone for the keeper-selections as he was employed by them. He was told to forget about cricket because he played in the typical street cricket style without technique.Went back to Ranchi(a place which is smaller than david beckhams bathroom,famous for its jungles & tribals) & fought his way up the ranks.
Why do you think he’s such an Icon in India.?Why isn’t the rich Yuvraj such an Icon??Hell,even Saurav Ganguly doesn’t command the mass hysteria that dhoni does.& Tendulkar can have as many Centuries as he wants but he’ll never get the fan response & pure ‘no-agenda’ love of all socio-economic sectors in India.Every Dhoni Haircut becomes a national event.
Obama hasn’t produced any results yet.Dhoni has quite a few.
perhaps you missed something recently – I know it’s more difficult for Indians than even Americans to realize that there is a world outside of themselves, one that doesn’t run on cricket and Bollywood – but Obama just suceeded in being elected head of the most powerful nation in the world (yes, I hate to tell you, the BCCI doesn’t run the world) .
He’s just done more in history, even if he never does another thing, than you and Dhoni and Tendulkar etc. can ever imagine. I guess, being Indian, though, you automatically dismiss anyone who isn’t also Indian, unless of course, like media tart Roebuck, they feed your innate belief in your greatness above all other races.
All a load of crap, what I just wrote, rather like the Indian posts here that actually take this garbage from Roebuck even half seriously.
All these kangaroos don’t realise the life story of dhoni & the pressure on him.Is this blog anti-india.
Steve,are you on medication.indian posts,indians dismissing others.Thats mildly racist in itself.How are you allowed to post such nonsense.Indians never post stuff like its difficult for kangaroos to realise that there is a world outside of themselves.
You don’t equate them in that way.It’s Dhoni is to cricket what Obama is to politics.Perhaps Dhoni had a tougher mountain to climb.Dhoni succeeded in becoming the head of the most powerful cricket nation in theworld.Its the toughest job in cricket.
Steven,my opinion of you is something that is best not articulated.
I did not see such over the top writing about Dhoni even in Indian publications! That was definitely over the top from Peter Roebuck. More so because just a few days back he wrote in The Australian (or was it SMH?) running down Dhoni! But even if he dint do that, comparing Dhoni to Obama is silly! Yes, Dhoni came up the hard way, from a small town, is the toast of the country and blah but Obama he is not! Its funny! Peter Roebuck was probably on one of those banned things when he wrote it! Even more sad because he really is a good writer!
Peter Roebuck’s been getting carried away these days, what with his excessive use of hyperbole and pity maxims in nearly every article. It’s sad, because he actually is one of the better cricket-writers.
US President is obviously tougher job but Dhoni is also doing tough job.
Dhoni is very successfull yet people still throw daggers at him for the removal of Dravid,Ganguly and others.
In cricket it is toughest job being captain of indian team.
People think captain is solelly responsible for win & he should only take blame for losses.
Even now people are saying Kapil Dev has won World Cup and not team has won.
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