India vs South Africa: MS Dhoni's back as the captain but what do we expect from him?

With the South Africa–India T20I series starting tomorrow, I’d actually give much more than a penny for MS Dhoni’s thoughts. India’s limited-overs captain has just returned from what is probably his longest break from cricket for almost a decade. He didn’t spend his time just puttering around the house either – he was busy qualifying as a paratrooper with the Indian Army. That’s not exactly a common diversion among international cricketers. [caption id=“attachment_2451558” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File photo of MS Dhoni. PTI[/caption] If only we knew how he felt about that achievement or how he feels about taking back the reigns at a time when “aggression” is Indian cricket’s newest buzzword while his persona as Captain Cool projects its opposite. He also has a legitimate challenger for the captaincy in Virat Kohli, whose time appears to have come. At 34, Dhoni’s career has, in a sense, come full circle. His job is to run the limited-overs game, without the stress of Test cricket, which is where he started eight long years ago. He has a T20 World Cup to look forward to, much as he did back then, when he also had a young team to lead. I wonder if the symmetry strikes him. If he takes a moment to ponder the road he has taken and where it has led him now that he is closer to the end of his career than the beginning. Or is he still only focused on the process, working out what he needs from each player in his squad and treating those impostors, Triumph and Disaster, much the same? Yet, at the same time, the situation is different. He is battle-scarred now, as much as battle-hardened. Age and experience must have changed him but to what degree? His remarkable physical skills have shown some signs of wear and tear but his mind appears as sharp as ever. That might be why the pre-series talk has been about Dhoni moving up the order to bat at No. 4. Team Director Ravi Shastri said Dhoni deserved the promotion – but the captain has remained silent through all this, letting others do the talking. It is left to us to speculate whether this has been prompted by Dhoni re-calibrating his odds or not. If he does bat up the order, it will also be interesting to see whom he entrusts with his old job of closing out games. The memory of Dhoni refusing to take singles and give the strike to Ambati Rayudu in the T20I against England last September still lingers. Dhoni’s immense self belief means he has always backed himself to bail his team out. Is he now comfortable handing over that responsibility to someone else, possibly even Rayudu? I also wonder how much longer Dhoni wants to submit himself to the scrutiny of people like me, who don’t just want him to give of himself on the field, but off it as well. Of course, he is not obligated in any way to do so and he has already earned the admiration and love of millions of fans, but in our defence we would have so much to learn from him if he allowed us a look behind the curtain, Unfortunately for us, the chances of that are roughly the same as a snowstorm in Mumbai in May.