MS Dhoni will go down as one of the most influential cricketers in the history of the game. The 41-year-old is the only captain to win 3 ICC trophies and gets regarded as one of the best finishers in the world.
Dhoni has had a perfect career, but the one area which led to his downfall was his slow run rate towards the tail-end of his international career. Captain cool failed to replicate the same charm he did effortlessly in his heyday.
Former India fielding coach R Sridhar, in his new book, ‘Coaching: Beyond: My Days with the Indian Cricket Team‘, recalled one similar occasion where Dhoni’s slow innings endured a humiliating defeat, following which, then head coach Ravi Shastri lost his cool and blasted the CSK star.
During India’s tour to England in 2018, the Men in Blue won the T20I series and got off to winning ways in the ODI series. However, England levelled the fifty-over series in 2nd ODI because of a slow MSD inning.
India required 133 to win off eleven overs, but because of Dhoni’s slow approach, the team managed just 20 runs in the next six overs and eventually lost the game. Dhoni completed his 10,000 ODI runs, but his approach did not go well with Ravi Shastri, who blasted the former India skipper in the dressing room.
“Ravi was fuming. He was angry because of the lack of a fight. He stormed into the dressing room, where all players and staff members sat in silence. Ravi locked his eyes on MSD and said, ‘No matter who you may be, there should not be another occasion when we lose a match, not trying to win it. It will not happen under my watch. And if anyone does it, that will be the last bloody game of cricket they will play under my watch. You can lose a cricket game, no shame in that, but you will not lose like this.'”
Sridhar further revealed that Dhoni also made eye contact with Ravi till the end of the speech and did not flinch once.
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