In the bureaucratic Vladimir Putin’s regime in Russia, every single entity works in tandem to protect the interests of the government. They sing his praises and the media, which Putin has a major control of, conveniently blacks out every single blemish of his. What if that kind of a scenario was recreated on a cricket field?

This, by no means is to equate India’s World Cup winning captain MS Dhoni and Putin in the same breath. It is hard to believe how the decade gone by would have panned out without Dhoni at the helm for India; whether the Men in Blue would have gone on to win so much silverware.

India A, touted as Dhoni’s last game as captain, faced England at the Brabourne Stadium. With spectators let inside the stadium for free, thousands flocked in to chant, “Dhoni, Dhoni”, which echoed throughout the game.

The environment bore a distinct sense of Putin. It seemed as though the board and commentators (especially them) were working overtime to praise the Ranchi dasher. This was certainly a match of some significance and both teams pushed each other to the limit. There were players from both sides eagerly looking to nail down a spot for their respective national teams. Kuldeep Yadav was showing that India do have strength-in-depth in the spin bowling department. For the visitors, Sam Billings showed what a dangerous white-ball exponent he can be once he gets his eye in.

The men behind the microphone did not need much of a reason to hail Dhoni and his feats. The broadcasters, no flag-holders of subtlety themselves, also had a field day, milking every bit of mileage at the expense of India’s first cricketing superstar of the 21st century. As for Dhoni, he is far from done, his blazing 40-ball 68 stood testament to that.