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Besides mane matters...

ANAND SANKAR speaks to the latest poster boy of Indian cricket, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, about everything except his hair

ATTENTION GRABBER M. S. Dhoni believes in being positive

The man from Jharkhand grabs all the attention wherever he goes. The swashbuckling Mahendra Singh Dhoni must come across as the stuff of nightmares to bowlers, but in person, he is far from that image. He believes in being positive and controlling his aggression. "There are times when it is really hard to control yourself but you have to. Because it's cricket, not boxing."

So, what does he think about India agreeing to the 20-20 cricket concept? "Aap starting hi karo controversy hatake. 20-20 math pucho," Dhoni says.

But on persisting, he says, "Everything goes. Test match bhi, one-dayers, and even 20-20. It is an interesting concept and is good for the spectators."

Youth icon

Over the last season, due to his exploits with the bat, Dhoni has emerged the latest poster boy of Indian cricket. This even led to him being crowned the MTV Youth Icon of 2006.

"I think it is a prestigious award. The youth are the ones who poll and decide who is the icon," he reflected. "Most others (contestants) were from different fields, and that's where I feel cricket played a role in my winning the award. But it was also about how you are off the field. Cricket is not everything; it is not life. The person you are off the field and how you behave with others matters. You have to be a good human being and that is a tough challenge."

Recently an advertisement featured Dhoni on a bike and it has now emerged that the man is a hardcore bike enthusiast. Rumours have it that he has laid his hands on a Suzuki Hayabusa, the most powerful bike in the world. But Dhoni said the truth is far from it. "No, I haven't got a Hayabusa. I have a Kawasaki ZX 14. But I like dirt biking the most. So, TVS is building a customised dirt bike for me because you don't get it in the market. This has been kept confidential till now."

Love for gaming

Another face of Dhoni not many know about is a passion he shares with Ronaldinho - their love for gaming. While playing too much on a play station is being cited as a reason for the Brazilian's poor performance at the World Cup, Dhoni made his priorities very clear. "Off the field it is one of the things I do most of the time. But I like to play only if I get a stretch of two to three hours. I don't like to leave the game in the middle, go for a training session and then come back."

Dhoni will also feature in a computer game, the next edition of Brian Lara Cricket. But he prefers cricket in real life.

"I am into first-person shooting games. Counter Strike, Black Hawk Down, Men Of Valour..."

Talk over the last few weeks has been of the much-vaunted cricket reality show. It aims to discover talent from across India, which according to Dhoni, will be a long-drawn process.

"I think it should work. It depends on what their plan is. It remains to be seen how they will explore rural and urban areas. It also depends on how the plan is executed. It is a stage-by-stage process."

The Chappell doctrine for Indian cricket has laid a lot of emphasis on mental toughness and Dhoni appears to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of it. In the series at the West Indies, for the first time, accolades were reserved for his wicket keeping, especially to the spinners. "I have been working hard. It has been a gradual process. In the domestic circuit you hardly get bowlers with the calibre of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh. The two bowl with so much pace and bounce. The more you keep to them, the more you improve."

Comparisons have been made to Aussie hero Adam Gilchrist. Though the two players are worlds apart, Dhoni does seem to have some of that Aussie grit and aggression in him.

"That's a real hard thing to judge. I haven't judged myself. But one thing is for sure, wherever I am part of - cricket, soccer or any other game - I am serious. I give 100 per cent. I may succeed or lose. But when the day ends and I go to my room, I should be confident I did what I could."

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