MS Dhoni has built a reputation around calmness. Unflappable in pressure, measured in tone, the man has been the gold standard of composure. ‘Captain Cool’ as they all know. But as Mohit Sharma revealed recently, there have been moments when even the great finisher let his temper slip.
The pacer went back to the Champions League T20 days when Chennai Super Kings (CSK) were up against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Dhoni had asked Ishwar Pandey to bowl but Mohit misheard and thought the call was for him. By the time he started his run up, the umpire told him he had to finish the over. On the very first ball he removed Yusuf Pathan, yet Dhoni was in no mood to forgive the mix up.
Did Dhoni abuse Mohit Sharma?
“I had a lot of moments. Mahi bhai has a cool and calm aura. You don’t expect him to lose his cool. Being a young guy, you get excited when he loses his cool at you. There was a moment in the CLT20 against KKR, Mahi bhai called Ishwar Pandey to bowl, but I thought he called me. I started my run-up, but Mahi bhai said he didn’t call me to bowl, and he tried calling Ishwar. The umpire said I have to continue bowling as I had started my run-up. He lost his cool at me and abused me. I took Yusuf [Pathan] bhai’s wicket on the first ball. During the celebration, Mahi bhai was still hurling abuses (laughs),” Mohit told CricTracker.
For a youngster like Mohit it was an incident that stayed with him. He had grown up hearing of Dhoni’s calm, and suddenly he was at the receiving end of something very different. But it also told him how high Dhoni’s standards were and how focused he always wanted his side to be.
That night in the CLT20 is only one side of the story. Mohit also stressed on the other, more lasting side of Dhoni’s personality.
Mohit’s years under Dhoni at CSK were the peak of his T20 career. Handpicked in 2013, he bagged 20 wickets in his debut IPL season and followed it up with 23 scalps in 2014 to win the Purple Cap. Between 2013 and 2015, he took 57 wickets for Chennai, becoming Dhoni’s go-to bowler in the middle and death overs. Across four seasons with CSK, he finished with 69 wickets, which still puts him among the franchise’s leading wicket-takers.
“At the same time, I had a lot of off-field moments [with him]. He is someone who loves to teach things. Every time you sit with him, you learn something in life, not just about the sport. He teaches how cricket can make a kind human,” he said.
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