5 epic MS Dhoni stump-mic moments
MS Dhoni is one of the greatest cricketers of all time. The former Indian skipper is the only one to have won the ICC T20 World Cup, ICC World Cup and ICC Champions Trophy as captain.
He retired from all formats of international cricket on August 15, 2020.
Dhoni is still active in the IPL. Earlier this year, he stepped down as the captain of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) but took over the reins of the team once again after his successor Ravindra Jadeja decided to step down.
Since Dhoni keeps the wickets for his team, he is always involved in the game. He offers his suggestions to the bowlers, and his plans have been successful on most occasions.
Apart from that, Dhoni has also scolded some players from behind the stumps when they have not executed their plans well. However, his way of scolding is as unique as him.
Speaking of MS Dhoni in this listicle today, we will look at the top five stump-mic moments involving the CSK captain.
#1 MS Dhoni reminding Suresh Raina about his line and length
During the 2015 Cricket World Cup, MS Dhoni gave the ball to off-spinner Suresh Raina when left-handed batter William Porterfield was in the middle.
Generally, off-spin bowlers trouble southpaws, but Raina's line and length was not accurate. To tell him that he was not bowling well, Dhoni cheekily told Raina from behind the stumps:
"Woh volleyball kee tarah khada hua hai beech mein" (he is standing in a volleyball pose).
#2 Dhoni's secret code for Doosra
During one of the matches, Dhoni wanted Ravichandran Ashwin to bowl the 'Doosra'. However, he did not clearly tell the bowler but used a popular TV show's name to give him a hint.
"Taarak Mehta," Dhoni's comment was caught on stump mic.
The commentators picked it up on air and explained that he was referring to the show 'Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah' to bowl the doosra.
#3 When Dhoni cheekily reminded Sreesanth that a match is happening
Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan revealed a hilarious incident from a game where Sreesanth was not so focussed on the field. Dhoni diverted his mind back to the match by saying:
"Oye Sree girlfriend nahi hai udhar, idhar aaja thoda"(Sreesanth your girlfriend is not there, please come a little squarer).
#4 When Dhoni reminded Ravindra Jadeja about the field setting
During India's tour of New Zealand in 2013/14, BJ Watling and Brendon McCullum frustrated the Indian bowlers with their partnership of 352 runs. Ravindra Jadeja bowled some overs during the partnership, but Dhoni was not impressed with his line and length.
The wicket-keeper felt that the bowler was not bowling as per the field placement, so he commented:
"Jaddu thoda off mein daal. Pujara ko udhar taali bajane nahi rakha hai"(Jadeja bowl on the off stump. Pujara is not standing there to clap).
#5 When Dhoni left Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja in splits
During an IPL match between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) last year, CSK crushed RCB.
Ravindra Jadeja was the hero for CSK in all three departments. Dhoni gave him his insights from behind the stumps, which helped Jadeja pick up the wickets of Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers.
Dhoni and Jadeja communicated in Hindi when Maxwell and de Villiers were in the middle, but Harshal Patel walked out to bat after de Villiers' dismissal. Soon after, Dhoni said:
"Ab Hindi me nahi bol sakta hun" [Now I can't talk to you in Hindi!].
MS Dhoni's comment left Suresh Raina standing in the slips and Ravindra Jadeja in splits.