Is Dhoni the brand now bigger than the player?

As Pune and Rajkot geared up to go into the first IPL draft in Mumbai, it was a no-brainer that India’s limited overs skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, up for grabs after Chennai Super Kings was suspended for two years by the Lodha committee, would be the first choice for Pune. And as expected, they did go for Dhoni first, before picking Ajinkya Rahane, R. Ashwin, Steven Smith and Faf du Plessis.

But then Subroto Talukdar, Pune franchises’ representative at the auction, decided to make it clear that more than anything, it was Dhoni the brand that they wanted to utilise as they gear up for their debut season in the cash-rich Indian Premier League. Subroto said that Dhoni was an automatic choice for them as they are a new franchise and will have to build up a brand. They felt that in such a circumstance, Dhoni was the best person.

Interestingly, with Dhoni out of reach, Rajkot went for Suresh Raina. And Keshav Bansal, the Rajkot franchise owner, made it clear that for Rajkot, it is more about cricketing skills and that is where Raina suits the bill for them. Bansal said that Raina is a fantastic batsman and has been playing some great cricket and the franchise has a lot of expectations from him.

So then, is Dhoni the brand now bigger than Dhoni the player?

For a cricket fan, it would be heartbreaking to think that the man who has won us the World Cup, World T20 and the Champions Trophy, is now more a part of the commercial strategising of a franchise than his actions on the field. But then, what Talukdar said does make a lot of sense. And it isn’t a first either.

When Delhi Daredevils bought Yuvraj Singh for a record Rs 16 crore in the auction ahead of season eight, the management had made it clear that the deal had more to do with the marketing strategy as the team needed an Indian face who could connect with the fans. Their ploy to go all-out and buy Kevin Pietersen previously had failed them as he failed to connect with the Indian fans and getting sponsors had become an issue for the franchise.

But then, who would have thought that the man whose ability to snatch wins from the jaws of defeat, especially in the shorter formats of the game, had made him a hero across the country, would now be picked to rope in sponsors and woo advertisers.

As Dhoni walks into the twilight of his career, the failures are definitely starting to take a toll on him. From a time when he remained as calm in defeat as he was after a win, Dhoni has started coming up with bizzare explanations after losses. Post the series loss to South Africa in the recent ODIs, Dhoni blamed umpiring decisions and dew factors for losses. He even went on to say how the team wasn’t balanced yet — even though the same set of players have been playing for India over the last couple of years.

Considering that every captain has a shelf-life, handing the baton to Virat Kohli in the 50- over version could well be the way to ease the pressure off Dhoni and help him sign off with a bang.