Former Indian captain MS Dhoni is known for his calmness on the field and his emotions never reflected when he made the toughest of decisions and even when the going was against his team.
But umpire Sudhir Asnani has recalled one such incident in which he was in the line of fire as Dhoni’s temper flared during an ODI between India and England at Mohali in 2013.
Angered by the umpire’s decision to turn down an LBW appeal after Ishant Sharma’s delivery struck the pads of the English batsman Kevin Pietersen, Dhoni walked up to the umpire and asked him to justify his decision.
“As I turned down the appeal, the fielders slumped on the ground.”
A visibly shaken Ansari replied calmly as he thought that the ball was missing the off-stump but Dhoni’s sharp reaction had clearly left an impact.
“I was really shaken by his disagreement. As nervousness got the better of me, I lost track of the happenings in the game,” Asnani said.
When the fourth umpire Anil Chaudhary came out during the drinks break and assured Asnani that he had made the right decision as the ball was missing the off-stump and also the commentators were praising him. It was then, when MS Dhoni after hearing this immediately went up to Sudhir Asnani and said: “One plus, Sudhir.”
By saying this, MS Dhoni acknowledged that Asnani was right and he made the correct decision.
“I have never seen a captain do this to an umpire in my life,” Sudhir Asnani concluded.
