Dhoni made to pay for his grand stand against the BCCI

By John Cheeran
India’s one-day and Twenty20 skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is in a bind. Dhoni, in all likelihood, will be a given a short vacation by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) by leaving him out of the national team that will tour Sri Lanka for a three-Test series.
Dhoni cannot complain, if chairman of selectors Dilip Vengsarkar follows a plan charted out by the Indian board and picks the side. Dhoni himself is aware of what’s happening around him for he only set the ball rolling. Dhoni has been conveyed the message by the BCCI and the player has hinted that he may skip the Sri Lankan series. It was Dhoni who embarrassed the BCCI by venting his frustration on poor scheduling in Karachi during the recently concluded Asia Cup.
So despite Pepsi refreshing himself, Indian cricket and Youngistan, Dhoni is mighty tired. But Dhoni is a brave man. He spoke for himself and his team mates. Now he is made to pay for his bravery and grand standing.
You cannot ignore that Dhoni suddenly finds himself under tremendous pressure after losing three consecutive finals.
The IPL final, Kitply Cup and Asia Cup. It all adds up. Though Dhoni has an air conditioner inside his brain, he needs to refill the gas.
He needs a break to recharge himself.
But there are two questions that need to be answered by Dhoni. There were back-to-back matches in the Indian Premier League. Did he feel fatigue then? Or Money kept him refreshed?
And the second question. If he is really drained out after the Asia Cup, why was he wasting his time and energy by involving himself in a sponsor’s circus in Mumbai on Monday?
All this brouhaha over too much play and too much pay should make Pepsi executives really worried. Their biggest investment in future since Sachin Tendulkar, Dhoni, the zeitgeist of the Youngistan, is bloody tired. That’s after drinking Pepsi after Pepsi. How can they now tell the Youngistan that Pepsi refreshes Indian cricket in this searing summer?