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| MS Dhoni |
BCom clean bowled. Registered commerce student Mahendra Singh Dhoni won’t receive his graduation degree on February 18 from St Xavier’s College, Ranchi.
Team India skipper, who enrolled in commerce (vocational studies) stream for the 2008-11 academic session, could not clear even one of the six semesters due to his cricketing assignments.
The college, which launched the semester system after it was granted autonomy in 2005, confers its own graduation degrees to alumni. On February 18, it will confer degrees to the Class of 2011.
Dhoni had registered to study in St Xavier’s College in 2008, which was valid for five years. He was supposed to complete his commerce degree — with office administration and secretarial practices (OMSP) as his subjects — in that period.
The delighted college offered him “help and concessions”, but busy Mahi couldn’t make it to classes or exams.
“This is an easy course and he could have cleared it,” said Father Nicholas Tele, principal. “Dhoni was supplied with books and study materials for the first semester. The college was prepared to consider his absence from class as he is an outstanding cricketer leading the national team. We could have even considered holding his exam at venues and on dates of his convenience, if he had wanted.”
Other Xaverians can turn a blazing green.
There’s more. “Dhoni can appear at any institute in India run by a Jesuit group, be it Loyola College, Chennai, or St Xavier’s College, Mumbai. But that will be possible only if he applies to college authorities,” said the principal.
The validity of his registration will expire in 2013.
So, Dhoni appears to have missed the graduation bus for now. In 1999, after his CBSE plus two from JVM-Shyamali, Ranchi, teen Dhoni had enrolled in BCom in Gossner College, Ranchi, which his stunning cricketing career waylaid.
But Dhoni, arguably India’s most famous undergraduate today, has no placement worries. A fortnight ago, Team India skipper became vice-president of India Cements, a company owned by BCCI chief N. Srinivasan. India Cements also owns IPL franchise Chennai SuperKings, which Dhoni leads.
