MS Dhoni should’ve known rules like back of his gloves

One starts this piece with a disclaimer. Like all Indians, one has the utmost regard and respect for the Indian Armed Forces whose valour, bravery and dedicated pledge to the country is unsurpassed. Our uniformed personnel deserve unconditional respect for their commitment to the entire nation which lives in peace while they guard our borders.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, former Indian captain, who has scores of fans and admirers including yours truly, sported the Balidaan insignia (or logo) on his gloves while keeping wickets for India in its first International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup 2019 (WC19) against South Africa at the Hampshire Bowl.

The insignia for Para Commandos was earned by Dhoni who officially became a honorary Lieutenant Colonel in the Indian Territorial Army in 2011 and trained with the elite Parachute Regiment earning a maroon beret after rigorous training.

While a vast majority of Indians applauded his act of sporting the much respected insignia, the ICC rejected a request by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for Dhoni to continue keeping wickets, sporting the insignia on his gloves. ICC’s diktat, which is well within the rules, drew ire from Indian fans and many former sportspersons whose emotions took precedent over the stringent regulations prescribed by crickets premier body.

The ICC clearly defines that players and team officials are prohibited from displaying or conveying messages through items affixed to clothing or equipment unless approved by the player’s governing board and by ICC’s cricket operations department. The rule also clearly specifies that ICC will not grant an approval for messages which relate to political, religious or racial activities or causes. In Dhoni’s case, the request by the BCCI went after the game against the Proteas, a clear breach of the rules set by the organising body.

ICC’s decision prompted many commentators to ask for intervention by the BCCI and the Indian Government to allow Dhoni to continue sporting the Balidaan insignia in future matches of the tournament. Some went to the extent of asking the authorities to ban further participation in WC19. This reaction is one that wants the team to end their campaign, something they have worked very hard on for the past four years, for a reason that is purely emotional.

Players, like anyone else, have their personal emotions in terms of likes and dislikes. England batsman Moeen Ali sported armbands saying “Free Palestine” and “Save Gaza” while playing against India at Southampton in 2014. The ICC censured Ali who was prohibited from wearing the armbands, though his act was allowed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) citing it as one that was conveying a ‘humanitarian message’.

During the 2003 edition of the World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabweans Andy Flower and Henry Olonga sported black arm bands in the match against Namibia to protest against Robert Mugabe’s policies. They said the act was to “mourn the death of democracy in our beloved Zimbabwe” and to make “a silent plea to those responsible to stop the abuse of human rights in Zimbabwe”.

While the acts by Ali, Flower and Olonga (and there are many more in the history of sports) were to clearly express their opinions on political policies or preferences, one wonders what made Dhoni sport the respected Balidaan insignia on his gloves. Was he showing respect for the regiment he is part of? Or was it a statement he was trying to make to bring the world’s attention to dastardly acts of insurgency that have occurred in India in the not too distant past?

Unfortunately, the Indian cricket fans’ focus has shifted from the team’s campaign to bring back the coveted cup to, what many (including yours truly), consider a non issue. The Indian Army, in an interaction with a national news agency, has distanced itself from the issue and clarified that it had nothing to do with it. The Army’s reaction clearly shows that they are unperturbed whether the ace Indian wicketkeeper sports (or not) a much respected insignia on his gloves.

It is intriguing that an experienced cricketer like Dhoni, who made his international debut in 2004 decided to push the envelope and breach the ICC rules. Regulations that a player with 15 years of experience, one who has captained the Indian team in many ICC tournaments, is supposed to know at the back of his ‘gloves’.

One cannot figure out what prompted Dhoni to use the valued insignia, knowing that the ICC may ask for it to be removed. If he wanted to make a statement of pride or patriotism he should have taken the necessary permission. Was it patriotism, making a statement or an exercise in marketing oneself? Only Dhoni can tell.