Swapnil Kusale won the Bronze Medal for India in 50m rifle shooting at the 2024 Paris Olympics. At 28 years old, this shooter employed by the Indian Railways as a ticket collector has great similarities to Indian cricket legend MS Dhoni, who also started his career collecting tickets. Kusale’s journey has managed to connect with ordinary people strongly because Dhoni was also a ticket collector before his legendary cricket career took off.
A classic example of ticket collector’s fate turning around is that of the ex-India captain, MS Dhoni, who was a ticket collector at the Kharagpur Railway Station before he shot to fame in Indian cricket. A similar story was that of Kusale, who was discharging his responsibility as a ticket collector in Kolhapur Railway Station in Maharashtra.
Ironically, even after applying for a promotion a couple of hundred times, the Indian Railways did not give him a promotion in all these years. But finally, having contributed in an event with a phenomenal performance in the Olympics, he was awarded a double promotion, testing not just his skill but also his tenacity.
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He further told The Times of India, “I do not follow anyone in the world of shooting. Apart from that, I admire Dhoni for the person that he is. My sport requires me to be as calm and patient as he is on the field. And I relate to his story in that I am also a ticket collector, like he was.”. He admires Dhoni not just as a cricketer but also as a person, showing the strength of mind that both of their jobs require.
MS Dhoni’s career, meantime, has been through quite a bit of change itself. He resigned from the captaincy of the Chennai Super Kings prior to the beginning of the IPL 2024 season. Having announced his retirement from international cricket on August 15, 2020, Dhoni is now only available for the IPL matches.
Under the new skipper, Ruturaj Gaikwad, in 2024, CSK did really poorly and was not able to make it to the playoffs. Now, with the impending 2025 IPL season, comes the usual speculation season regarding Dhoni’s future with the side. Dhoni has himself said he’d wait to see the new player retention rules before deciding his future.
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Speaking about the success and stability of the team, MS Dhoni underlined, “There is a lot of time for it. We have to see what decision they take on player retention, etc. Right now the ball is not in our court. So once the rules and regulations get formalised, I will take a call, but (it) needs to be in the best interest of the team.”.
In fact, Swapnil Kusale’s bronze medal victory and his inspirational story of grit reflect Dhoni’s rise: when one is trying to prove one’s mettle and show the world the kind of passion and hard work one is capable of, all limits seem to fade away.
