MS Dhoni is regarded as one of the coolest and calmest captains in world cricket. But according to former teammates Gautam Gambhir and Irfan Pathan, he can be angry too. Perhaps one of the most shrewdest captains ever, Dhoni even stormed into the field of play to question an umpire's decision.
Speaking On Star Sports, 2011 World Cup winner Gambhir revealed that he has seen Dhoni lose his cool plenty of times.
Gambhir remembers seeing the angry side of Dhoni. "It was during the 2007 World Cup and in other World Cups when we haven’t done well (and Dhoni fumed). He’s human and he’s bound to react as well.
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"It’s absolutely fair enough to do that. Even at Chennai Super Kings, if there’s a misfield or if someone has dropped a catch... Yes, he’s cool, he’s probably much cooler than the rest of the other captains. Much cooler than me for sure," said Gambhir.
Someone who is known to retain his composure during high pressure, Dhoni's earful to CSK teammate Deepak Chahar in a 2019 IPL match against Kings XI Punjab is still fresh in mind. Chahar's successive no-balls in the 19th over left Dhoni fuming. And justifiably so. Chahar, of course, made amends.
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MS Dhoni has lost his cool on certain occasions while captaining CSK in the IPL. Image Credit: BCCI
Former Australian pacer Brett Lee said cricket needs entertainers like Dhoni. "He never steps over the boundary. If he does, it’s very rare," said Lee.
Irfan Pathan narrated an incident when Dhoni lost his cool during a warm-up session in 2006-07.
"During the warm-up, we had a game where the right-handed batsman would bat with the left hand and vice-versa. After we finished the warm-up, we used to get into our practice. So, during the warm-ups, there were two teams. Once MS Dhoni was given out which he didn’t think he was. He threw his bat and made a dash to the dressing room and came late for the practice. So, he does get angry," said Pathan.
Anger management has been a reason for Dhoni's acceptance among teammates, both senior and junior to him. Rarely has he broken the rules of the game but in 2019, during an IPL match against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur, Dhoni lost his composure, charged out of the CSK dugout and challenged an umpiring decision.
Chennai were chasing and when the umpire’s no-ball call was controversially over-ruled by his colleague at square-leg, Dhoni ran onto the pitch to give them a piece of his mind. Dhoni couldn't change the decision but CSK won that match.
