Former Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been voted the most popular sportsperson in the country. These numbers come even as there are several voices which want Dhoni to step away from the game after his recent struggles in England.
However, the survey which was conducted by YouGov and which included the inputs from over four million participants showed that the Jharkhand-man is well above Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli and only Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead in likeability numbers.
MS Dhoni leads the pack
According to the numbers coughed up by the survey, MS Dhoni has an admiration score of 7.7%. Sachin Tendulkar is behind his former captain with a likeability figure of 6.8%. However, current Indian captain and perhaps the biggest name in Indian cricket at the moment Virat Kohli was way down on the list as he scored a mere 4.5% on the scale in consideration.
However, the numbers of Kohli is bound to increase in the days as to come. As a sample size, he has more Instagram followers than Tendulkar and Dhoni combined.
These numbers prove that the legacy stamped by MS Dhoni is not withering away any time soon and even though he is in the final lap of his career, the man from Ranchi who made his debut back in 2004 is still a person Indians want to emulate. From being level-headed in victories and in defeat, the man who led India to the 2007 World T20 and to the 2011 World Cup, Dhoni is the epitome of grace in times when foul mouthing oppositions has been the norm.
He is still enduring to the masses for being the enigma that he is and people still follow the way he carries himself around on the field.
Having said this, there is little doubt that the prowess of the man is on the wane and with the emergence of options in Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson, he has to reinvent his game for one final time before the 2019 World Cup. Also, it will be interesting to see the route the selectors take with younger keeping options entering the fray.
Knowing the man, he could well step away from the game without any fanfare, much like he did when he retired from Test cricket suddenly in 2012.
