For most of his cricket career, MS Dhoni has been recognized as someone with the calmest demeanour in the most chaotic situation on the field. However, there was an instance which probably fans could never forget as they saw the legendary cricketer losing his calm and violating the rules of the game.
Back in 2019, the Chennai Super Kings were chasing 152 against the Rajasthan Royals at Sawaimansingh Stadium in Jaipur. Dhoni & Co needed 18 off the last six balls and Ben Stokes dismissed Dhoni on the fourth delivery of the final over. The English all-rounder then bowled a slower full-toss to the new man, Mitchell Santner, which seemed high enough to be given a no-ball. Even the no-ball buzzer went off at the venue but the leg-umpire, who was quick to put his hand out before taking it back, said he never signalled for it.
The incident left Dhoni fuming as he stepped into the field to argue with the umpires. The episode garnered mixed reactions from the experts while the former CSK skipper was fined with 50% of his match fees for breaching the IPL’s Code of Conduct.
Recently, Mohit Sharma, who was part of the CSK squad in 2019, opened up about the incident in the ‘Two Sloggers Podcast’ on YouTube. The fast bowler said Dhoni was so furious that even the players near him in the dugout got scared.
“Hum log dugout mein the, hum chilla rahe the, mat jao, mat jao, mat jao. Lekin unhone peeche mud ke dekha bhi nahi. Voh aise gaye hain na, jab laga ki bhai sher ghus gaya hai (We were in the dugout and we were like ‘Please don’t go, don’t go’. But he didn’t even look behind. The way he went out on the field, then everyone was like that lion has entered the ground.)”
“He had just got out and was already furious. He wanted to be in there because generally, he doesn’t leave it to others. He came, sat and all of a sudden, the incident happened. He asked, ‘Did he give it a no-ball?’ We were like, ‘Yeah, he did signal.’ Then he just didn’t stop.
“When he returned, he asked me to bring the laptop. Then the video analyst showed him the video and he was like, ‘it was a no-ball,’” Sharma added.
Sharma said Dhoni soon realized his mistake and accepted that he overreacted in the heat of the moment. The former captain’s point was that the umpire shouldn’t have changed his decision under any pressure and that should stick to his original call.
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