MSD is a legend and has nothing left to prove

Dubai - The former skipper has won two World Cups, taken India to No.1 in Tests and is also the most successful Indian captain

Phew! That was cutting it too close and MS Dhoni perhaps saved the Indian selectors some headache just in the nick of time.
The five-man selection panel consisting of Devang Gandhi, Sarandeep Singh, Jatin Paranjpe and Gagan Khoda and led by chief selector MSK Prasad, are set to meet in India's financial capital Mumbai on Sunday to pick the squad for the tour of the West Indies.
And the larger than life shadow of Dhoni had hung over them ever since the World Cup concluded and in the lead-up to the meeting.
But with Dhoni informing the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that he would be unavailable for the tour starting on August 3, MSD has spared MSK and company the prospect of making that tough call of dropping him.
Dhoni revealed that he is taking a two-month break to serve in the Parachute Regiment of the Territorial Army where he is an Honorary Lieutenant General.
MSD's penchant for men in fatigues is well known and the next two months, perhaps, is a blessing in disguise. Spending time with the armed forces will give him some time off from the game, a break that he surely would do with. And it will also give MSD some time to reflect and some clarity on his future with the Indian team.
Maybe, time spent with army colleagues may give MSD a fresh perspective that there is life beyond cricket. Maybe, it could also rekindle the fire within and stoke it that MSD could return a new man. To quote a dialogue or the war cry from a popular Bollywood movie Uri: The Surgical Strike, the protagonist asks his men: 'How's the josh (passion)?' To which, the soldiers respond: 'High, sir!'
Through that, maybe, just maybe, Dhoni could draw inspiration like the Australians did when they visited the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey, the site where 11,000 Australian and New Zealand troops sacrificed their lives in an Allied military offensive over a century ago.
As virtually an entire nation debates and former cricketers give their two bits on every platform, on whether he should continue or call time, Dhoni hasn't been bogged down by the pressure. MSD, as is his wont, just like his cool exterior, has displayed oodles of ice, and some more, through this testing time.
He has always fought the odds through his life and career, from being that little-known boy from
a little-known Jharkhand then, a ticket inspector in the Indian Railways, who came through on the sheer weight of his talent, to the very top of Indian cricket.
But with MSD Dhoni being on the wrong side of 30, this is a different kind of battle that he faces - to stay or to leave.
And only he is the best person to take that call. It is impossible to think he will go on until the 2023 World Cup in India. Perhaps, the T20 World Cup in Australia next year might be a shot.
Athletes know best if they still have it within and if their body can still cope with the rigours. Who are we to decide?
We don't know if the 'finisher' is 'finished' yet but with two World Cups, taking India to No.1 in Tests and also being the most successful Indian captain, MSD has nothing left to prove to anyone.
He is already a legend.
james@khaleejtimes.com