To the world he’s known as Captain Cool. The ability to handle emotions in pressure cooker situations and deliver match after match was the hallmark of MS Dhoni’s captaincy era. Be it at the international level or in IPL, Dhoni’s ice-cool demeanor made him a fan-favourite and added to his legend. But Dhoni is a human after all and prone to emotional outbursts even if they are rare. The infamous argument with the on-field umpires after a controversial call during an IPL 2019 match with Rajasthan Royals and collision with Mustafizur Rahman during an international match in 2015 come to mind.
Another such incident took place during the IPL 2024 after a thrilling contest between CSK and Royal Challengers Bengaluru resulted in the former being eliminated from the playoffs race. RCB thus completed a terrific turnaround to finish among the top-four and celebrated it wildly.
Dhoni, who was in the dug-out, entered the field for the customary handshakes but left after waiting for some time for the dressing room in frustration with unaware RCB players continuing with their celebrations. India legend Harbhajan Singh, a former teammate of Dhoni, revealed how the wicketkeeper-batter punched a screen on his way back to the dressing room.
“The team (RCB) had all the right to celebrate the victory. I was there (at the venue) watching from upstairs. RCB were celebrating and these guys (CSK players) had made a line for the post-match handshake. RCB were a little late and by the time they arrived, Dhoni left and right before you enter the dressing room, there’s a screen which he punched. It happens,” Harbhajan said on Sports Yaari.
“It was their right to celebrate, they can even take three minutes. Maybe he wasn’t that (calm and cool) day. Maybe his dream of retiring from IPL with a trophy was shattered (after the defeat),” he added.
Harbhajan though feels that Dhoni should retire when he feels the time is right and backed the 43-year-old to play for another decade provided he manages to keep himself fit.
“It’s his decision when to retire. It’s possible we might even see him the next time too. We are no one to tell him when he retires, it’s his choice. If fit, he can even represent CSK for the next 10 years,” he said.
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