The small-town dream to wear India's colours just got bigger. KR Guruprasad salutes the cricketer who broke the monopoly of his urban counterpart and will continue to play a huge role in India's success stories on the pitch

Back in the 1980s, KR Guruprasad in Bellary didn't mind rising before dawn to catch Channel 9's coverage of the India-Australia series. Just as billions of cricket buffs in other parts of the country did.

There were other extremes toou00a0- skipping exams, waking up neighbours to watch live macthes on their TV, riding miles to watch a game and the like.



Small-town India never had it so big. Today, if the Dhonis, Sehwags, Rainas, Pathans and Harbhajans have become cricketing stars on the international arena, it's all thanks to a slow, silent revolution that has emerged from these regions that were once just dots on the Indian map.

The role played by sports hostels, mega bucks, the lure of IPL and regional leagues have contributed towards this phenomenon that will continue to bring in Indian talent for a long time. More importantly, a World Cup to be won back home in less than a month's time!

Chapter 1
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Excerpts: Pages 3-5

For school and state
Dhoni's roots can be traced back to Talasaalam in Uttarakhand's Almora district. His father, Paan Singh, used to farm in Almora till, in 1964, he decided to go to Lucknow to look for a job.

From there he went to Bokaro, where a steel factory was being built, but could not secure any job. He then moved to Ranchi, where he was employed as an unskilled labourer with the Hindustan Steel Authority.

Dhoni was born to Paan and Devki Singh on 7 July 1981 in Ranchi. He studied at DAV School and played cricket at a ground in front of his house in the Mecon Colony. He was also good at badminton and played football for his school as a goalkeeper.

His school team lacked a wicketkeeper and that prompted the cricket coach to ask the young Dhoni to try his hand at wicketkeeping. He was by then already known for his ability to hit big shots.

It is said that Dhoni's father was initially not too keen about his son's interest in cricket. Dhoni was academically sound, and Paan Singh wanted him to concentrate on doing something more stable than on trying to be a cricketer.

But Dhoni was not about to give up playing. His real growth as a cricketer began at the age of fifteen when he represented his school in the CK Nayudu inter-state school tournament. He subsequently played for Bihar in the Ranji Trophy and for the East Zone in the Duleep Trophy.

A Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) official noticed Dhoni while he was playing for Bihar. 'He scored a half-century or so in that match,' says the official, who does not want to be named.

'But the way he scored the runs was impressive. It was clear that the teenager was strongly built. The sound of his bat bludgeoning the ball echoed through the empty ground. It was a ferocious display of power hitting.'