Arun Kumar Thakur, an English teacher with Ranchi University, who also worked part-time as a sports commentator and writer, has just brought out an excellent book Wah Dhoni.

Over the years, Thakur has kept track of Mahi's progress following all the highs and lows of Mahendra Singh Dhoni's career.
In his preface, Thakur writes: "The moment he took off his shirt and gifted it to a young fan after winning the inaugural ICC T20 World Cup on 24 September 2007 at Johannesburg, in South Africa, and walked bare-chested towards the dressing room, he revealed yet another side of his personality. A new youth icon was born.

He has not looked back since then. Captain cool! Captain with the Midas touch! Commentators, including legendary Sunil Gavaskar, kept heaping praises on him. His achievements made me curious to know and understand the personality who grew in the cricketing backwaters of the cricket crazy country and captivated millions of cricket fans. Curiosity to understand the local boy, who made good in such a big way, led to this book. I hope it will help his fans ndestand MSD, or their Mahi, as he is called by his close relatives and friends. Mahi plays to win."

Thakur says Team India may be under tremendous pressure, even on the verge of a defeat, but his face does not betray any negative emotion, or for that matter any emotion at all. With a shrug of his shoulders, a jerk of his head to his left, and a few blinks of his eyes, he takes his position behind the stumps to wait for the next ball. He has proved his critics wrong time and again.

As regards his personality, the author says whatever hairstyle Dhoni tries, it suits him, as if he were made to sport that style! During India's tour to Pakistan in 2006, Pakistan's then President Parvez Musharraf was so impressed that he went out of the way at the post match presentation ceremony to comment on his long mane, and advised him to "keep it that way as it suits you."

Thakur believes Dhoni's emergence as an international cricket player from the so called backwaters of cricket in the country and his meteoric rise to the most coveted position in Indian cricket, that of the captain of Team India, has made MSD a national icon.

The author says that following the victory in the final of the ICC World Cup 2011, the Institute of Finance and International Management, Bangalore, has included Dhoni in its curriculum. Students will be required to study the leadership qualities of Dhoni for their project report.

This well produced book would have benefited from the inclusion of an index. Further, a few mistakes in spellings could have been avoided e.g. 'innings' has been mentioned as inning in the Preface and 'opening' as openning on page 154.(line ninth).