"Even if my one leg is not there, I will still play against Pakistan" - 5 secrets from MS Dhoni's career that others gave away
On August 15, 2020, former Indian skipper MS Dhoni stunned the cricket fraternity by announcing his retirement from international matches. Fans expected him to play in the ICC T20 World Cup in 2020, but the tournament was deferred to 2022 because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
During the lockdown period, Dhoni made up his mind to call it a day on his legendary international career. He has played in the IPL regularly for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), but August 15, 2020, marked the end of an era in Indian cricket.
Dhoni is an extremely private person who rarely participates in interviews these days. However, some of his former teammates and team managers have revealed some interesting things about the erstwhile Indian skipper.
On the second anniversary of his retirement, here's a look at five secrets about Dhoni that others spilled.
#1 When MS Dhoni was ready to play on one leg
Dhoni led India to many memorable championship wins, one of them being the Asia Cup 2016 triumph. This was an important year for India as they were going to host the ICC T20 World Cup for the first time ever. However, Dhoni suffered an injury at the gym while lifting weights.
Selector MSK Prasad was worried about him. The selection committee immediately added Parthiv Patel to the Indian squad ahead of the match against Pakistan. However, Dhoni told Prasad that he would play that game even though he was not fully fit.
During an interaction with young athletes at the Tamil Nadu Sports Journalists Association in 2017, MSK Prasad shared the details of his conversation with Dhoni, saying:
"Before the team was announced in the afternoon, Dhoni was all dressed up for the game. He called me to his room and asked me why was I worrying so much? Then he said, ‘Even if my one leg is not there, I will still play against Pakistan'. This is what Dhoni is made of."
#2 When Ravi Shastri revealed he does not have Dhoni's phone number
Ravi Shastri was the national head coach when Dhoni played his last game in Indian colors. Shastri had been around the Indian team for quite some time by then, but surprisingly, Dhoni never shared his phone number with him.
In a chat with Shoaib Akhtar on YouTube earlier this year, Shastri said:
"Honestly, till today I don't have his number. I never asked for it. I know he hardly has his phone. And if you have to get in touch with him, you know how to. I am saying he's that kind of a person."
#3 How MS Dhoni came close to youngsters
"Dhoni likes smoking a bit of the sheesha or the hookah. So, he quite often would set that up in his room, and it was very much open door policy."
(Via - @ITGDsports)
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Former Australian cricketer George Bailey played under Dhoni's captaincy for Chennai Super Kings and Rising Pune Supergiant. Sharing details of how he would bond with youngsters, Bailey said in a chat with cricket.com.au in 2018:
"He likes smoking a bit of the sheesha or the hookah. So, he quite often would set that up in his room, and it was very much open door policy. You would go in and quite often find a lot of younger players there."
#4 When BCCI gave a special phone to MS Dhoni
Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag once shared a story of how captain Dhoni would not answer calls from BCCI officials. To ensure that they are connected with Dhoni, the BCCI secretary gave him a special phone number.
In a chat with Cricbuzz earlier this year, Sehwag said:
“Once it happened that the BCCI secretary (name not revealed) called MS and he didn’t pick up the call. When the secretary next time met him, he gave a special phone to MS and told him that when this one rings, you need to pick it up."
#5 What MS Dhoni does during ad breaks on TV
During an episode of Breakfast With Champions in 2018, former Indian cricketer Suresh Raina shared details of how Dhoni scolded his teammates during ad breaks on TV. Raina said:
"You cannot read it from his face that what is he thinking. He does get angry at times but he doesn’t express. After the end of any over when the cameras go off and ads are on TV, he then speaks like sudhar jaa tu." [sic]
MS Dhoni has confirmed that he will play for CSK in IPL 2023. It will be interesting to see how he performs next season.