Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s position as the top batsman in one-day international (ODI) rankings may be challenged by at least three players in the series against the West Indies beginning today, but there is no real threat to his status as one of the most powerful brands in the game. Despite Dhoni having to bear the brunt of criticism after India’s exit from the Twenty-20 World Cup, his brand managers are going ahead with plans to launch a merchandise line with his name soon after the team’s return from the Caribbean.
“In sport, you win some and lose some, and Dhoni himself was quite crestfallen after the World Cup. However, it had no impact on his overall status as one of cricket’s top ambassadors, and we are now going ahead with plans to launch the merchandise in major shopping malls across India,” Yudhajit Dutta, managing director of Mindscapes Group, which manages Dhoni’s portfolio, said. Speaking to Gulf News, Dutta said there had been no slowdown in interest levels from prospective clients with whom talks had been going on to take Dhoni on board.
This, despite the fact that with an estimated price tag of $1.5 million (Dh5.5 million) per year, the wicketkeeper-batsman commands the highest fee per endorsement among cricketers. Dutta, who has been associated with handling Dhoni’s portfolio for more than five years now (previously with another company), says the public backlash was much worse after India made a first round exit from the 2007 50-overs World Cup. “There will be such extreme reactions because Indians are so passionate about cricket. However, one can’t deny that the team had a fantastic run under him since 2008 and … his abilities as a cricketer,” he said.
Talking about on-field action, Dhoni should be seeking to resort to his flamboyant style of batting again which once catapulted him to be among top ODI batsmen. Still on top with 815 points, the trio of Shivnarine Chanderpaul (777), Chris Gayle (771) and Yuvraj Singh (769) are breathing down the Indian captain’s neck. Since the Indian team boasts far too many stroke players, the skipper had been trying to play the role of an anchor in recent times - but it has not yielded him the dividends.
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