Former Indian captain MS Dhoni is renowned for his frigid temperament and ability to keep a calm head during crunch pressure situations.
Apart from being one of the best finishers of the game, Dhoni went on to become the most successful captain produced in the cricketing world. The Ranchi-born cricketer was also well-known as a strategic thinker of the sport.
Now, former Australian umpire Simon Tauffel has revealed an amusing anecdote, highlighting why Dhoni is popularly acclaimed as ‘Captain Cool’.
“MS Dhoni is one of the smartest cricket minds that I have come across in the game of cricket. I don’t say that because he is Indian, I say that because that’s the way I see it. He is an incredible strategic thinker and got a great cricket brain. But he also has great temperament and tremendous composure,” Simon Taufel told ‘The Cricket Edge’.
Taufel used an instance from India’s 2010 South Africa tour, where he had to fine Dhoni for slow over-rate and warn him about his suspension. Moreover, it was Dhoni’s hilarious reply that left the Australian perplexed.
“We had come out of a Test match in Cape Town where one of my good friends Sreesanth – had just finished playing a game there and we actually had to fine MS Dhoni for slow over-rate because Sree takes 7-8 minutes to bowl an over. The umpires and MS Dhoni were sitting in the dressing room and we were talking to him about over rates,” the 49-year-old added.
“We told him if he breaks it again in the Test match in Durban, he is likely to have a holiday. He said: ‘that’s okay, I need a holiday, I would like to have a game off. But Sree is not playing this game so don’t worry,'” Taufel concluded.
In the Test leg of the tour, India managed to level the three-match series by 1-1. But, the hosts came out victorious in the subsequent ODI series by a margin of 3-2.
