Mahender Singh Dhoni
It indeed is one of the apparent paradoxes that sportspersons or the actors associated with the business of performing arts, when they are at the cusp of their career, to have a different get-up grow their hairs, but as they settle down into the game the hairs also diminish either from the head, or is trimmed and kept short. It is a predominant streak among the entire infant terrible of the game and acting. Be it Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Andre Agassi, Mahinder Singh Dhoni, or for that mother John Abraham, among the traits that defined their persona was also included the hair growth with which they endured for some time, before they established themselves.
One often wonders whether length of the hair is directly proportionate to the unconventional streak in the persona, and as the persona mellows down, tempered with the experience of the filed in which the individual excels, the hair also is proportionately aligned as well.
Indeed, all of the individuals referred to above have been the mavericks of the game, and had and continue to have a fan base that transcends their national boundaries, i.e. the countries to which they belonged. In fact Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe were the first really infant terrible of the game of tennis, and only Agassi could stand up to them in terms of having the maverick tendency subsequently. For that matter, even Ralph Nadal falls into the same category and as his career still has not attained a growth curve of consistency his hairs have still not been trimmed down but grow on the wilder side. ’
If one comes to cricket the hair growth and the sense of maverick was probably introduced by Bob Willis, followed by Ian Botham, and in the Asian sub continent it was Imran Khan, Sarfaraz Nawaz and all other fast bowlers from Pakistan right down to Mohammed Asif. Now if one were to talk in the Indian context emergence of Mahender Singh Dhoni created such moment for the Indian team, long hairs, flowing mane, a swagger of diffidence, and see where he has taken the Indian cricket to, it is now the number one team in the world and after having attained the status, the lengthy manes have been chopped and now they are as per the defined norms of the society. Same is the case with John Abraham, so the sense of maverick persists for distinguishing oneself it seems, and once the identity has been created, conforming to the norms and becoming a part of the society is the logical process. It indeed is a hairy process.
Tags: Andre Agassi, Bjorn Borg, Bob Willis, Cricket, Hair Raising, Ian Botham, Imran Khan, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Mahinder Singh Dhoni, Ralph Nadal, Sarfaraz Nawaz, Sportspersons, Tennis
