Click to play videoNew Delhi: Team India's stupendous victory at the Wanderers is a story of a big win by small town India and was ably was sheperded by the Ranchi rockstar Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
But it's not been an easy going all along for the 26-year-old. Just a few moths ago, India’s dismal performance at the World Cup saw angry fans venting their anger on Dhoni by targeting his house, shouting slogans and pelting stones.
However, with this victory, the lost pride seems to have been avenged. Fans are back and so are the bouquets.
The most important aspect of the victory appears to be the rise of small-town success stories. From Joginder Singh to Rohit Sharma to the Pathan brothers – the new Team India represents not the English-speaking, urban youth, but the realisation of small-towners’ dreams.
On CNN-IBN show India 360, Editor of Navbharat Times, Harivansh explained the trend.
“Dhoni’s rise to fame is an example of the small town glory. Dhoni was always talented and has proved his caliber time and again. He went through a rough patch when the team performed poorly and the angry reactions were expected. When a star stops performing, he gets brickbats. This is part of Indian ethos,” he said.
Harivansh also explained the sudden rise of small-towners. “The monopoly of English-speaking class has been broken by people like Dhoni who have catapulted Jharkhand into the big league now. Even in IITs and IIMs, success stories come from small towns,” he said.
Truly, going by the trend it appears cricket has indeed become more democratic today.
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