here have been only a handful of occasions documented when ‘Captain Cool’, MS Dhoni, actually lost his composure on the field. But when he does, it becomes memorable.
Fast bowler Mohit Sharma, who played under Dhoni at Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as well as in the national team, recalled one of the incidents when a minor miscommunication led to Mahi giving him a mouthful.
The incident also involved fellow pacer Ishwar Pandey who played under Dhoni during his brief stint at CSK. Apparently, Dhoni instructed both Ishwar and Mohit to bowl the next over during one of the matches against Hyderabad.
“The match was against Hyderabad, it might sound funny now but looking at his reaction then, patloon dheeli ho gayi thi. Ishwar Pandey bowled the first over. Ashish Nehra bowled the second over. During Nehra’s over, Mahi Bhai was standing near me and he told me to bowl the next over. Then Nehra picked a wicket and as all players gathered to celebrate the dismissal, Dhoni told Ishwar to bowl the next over. I wasn’t aware that he had then asked Ishwar to bowl the next over,” Mohit Sharma said during a recent Instagram Live session.
Accidently, Mohit took the ball and started his run-up before Dhoni, who did not pay attention earlier, raised his hands, and stopped him mid-way.
Dhoni instructed Ishwar to bowl the subsequent over. It required an umpire intervention, who later asked MS to continue with Mohit, who already started the over.
To which, Mahi had a deathly stare at Mohit, who was looking for places to hide.
“When Nehra’s over ended, Ishwar came to bowl the next over. I then told him that Dhoni had asked me to bowl. I gave my cap to the umpire and went to my mark. I guess Mahi Bhai was talking to somebody and he didn’t see that I was going to bowl. As I usually hop before my runup, I had taken 2-3 steps and then I saw him raising both hands in the air. I wondered what I did wrong as I hadn’t even bowled a delivery, nor was I hit for a six or a boundary. He then told me he had asked Ishwar to bowl. The umpire intervened and said now that he has started, he will only bowl. The reaction which he gave after that was too scary.”
However, Mohit got the wicket of Yusuf Pathan upfront but that did not stop Mahi from giving both Ishwar and Mohit a mouthful.
In hindsight, Mohit, who will now play for Shreyas Iyer-led Delhi Capitals, tagged the situation as both funny and scary.
“My rhythm was very good and I was very confident of doing well. But yes, I was scared about what was he thinking. Luckily, Yusuf Pathan was on strike and he edged my first ball in the slip cordon. But despite that, it could not cool down Mahi Bhai. He called me and Ishwar, abused both of us and scolded a lot. He also said that it was foolish of him to expect both of us to become smart. It was a very funny incident but he was extremely angry,” concluded Mohit.
