Ex-India batter reveals MS Dhoni's silent outburst in dressing room during an IPL match

Sept. 14, 2024, 9:40 p.m.

Read time estimation: 3 minutes.

  3

Legendary wicketkeeper-batter and former India and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni hasn’t always lived up to his nickname of ‘Captain Cool’, and has lost his temper on a handful of occasions.

One such instance occurred during a match against their long-standing rivals Royal Challengers Bengaluru (formerly Royal Challengers Bangalore), where the five-time champions suffered a defeat despite needing to chase a modest score.

Former India and CSK batter Subramaniam Badrinath revealed how Dhoni made it amply clear he was furious with the team’s performance despite not saying a word.

Advertisement I remember that one match against RCB we played in Chennai. RCB got out to a very meagre score, 110 or something. I think we were trying to chase it but we lost wickets in there, in a hurry and we ended up losing the match where we couldn’t get 110 against RCB in Chepauk," Badrinath told InsideSport.

“I recall getting out to a poor shot, attempting a lap shot against Anil Kumble and being given out leg-before-wicket. As he entered the dressing room, I was standing there waiting.”

“There was a small water bottle in front of me, and MS simply kicked it right out of the park. We were all trying to avoid eye contact with MS in that dressing room, everyone of us, trying to stay away, steer clear of MS Dhoni,” he added.

The match Badrinath was referring to took place in the inaugural season, in which CSK had restricted RCB to 126/8 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium thanks to Albie Morkel’s 4/32. Anil Kumble’s 3/14 however, helped RCB restrict CSK to 112/8 in reply.

Dhoni was known for his calm on-field demeanour, for having a poker-face expression even during a tense situation with the game on a knife’s edge.

There have, however, been a handful of incidents in which Mahi let his displeasure known, an example of which was his tirade directed at batting partner Manish Pandey during India’s tour of South Africa in 2018.

Advertisement Dhoni had also stormed the field during a match against Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2019, angry over his team being denied a decisive ‘No Ball’.

Although generally known for his subdued celebrations throughout his career, Dhoni erupted in joy after the final ball of the 2013 Champions Trophy final against England resulted in a dot, securing a five-run victory for India and his third ICC title as captain.