New Delhi, May 13: Mahendra Singh Dhoni has hardly lost his temper during his decade and a half long illustrious career but there have been a few exceptions when ‘Captain Cool’ has let it rip, recall his former India teammates Gautam Gambhir and Irfan Pathan.
Recently, India spinner Kuldeep Yadav had revealed that he was mortally scared when Dhoni, by his own admission, had lost his cool for the first time in 20 years. And the left-arm chinaman bowler was at the receiving end when he did not adhere to Dhoni’s instructions while bowling during an ODI against Sri Lanka in 2017. The 38-yearold Gambhir, who played 58 Tests and 147 ODIs for India, revealed that on couple of occasions he saw the veteran wicket-keeper batsman lose his cool.
‘People say that they have never seen him (Dhoni) lose his cool, but I have on a couple of times. It was during the 2007 World Cup and in other World Cups, when we haven’t done well, Gambhir said on Star Sports show ‘Cricket Connected’.
But in the same vein Gambhir also said that Dhoni was a human and was bound to react as well. He’s human and he’s bound to react as well. It’s absolutely fair enough to do that. Even at CSK, if there’s a misfield or if someone has dropped a catch…., added Gambhir.
Gambhir, who was often known to lose his cool, said that Dhoni was cooler than him. ‘Yes, he’s cool, he’s probably much cooler than the rest of the other captains. Much cooler than me for sure!’ said Gambhir, who also played under Dhoni.
The 35-year-old Pathan, who also played with Dhoni, recalled an instance from 2006-07 when the Jharkhand dasher lost his temper during warm-up and reported late for practise. ‘It was in 2006-07. During the warm-up, we had a game where the right-handed batsman would bat with the left-hand and vice-versa. After we finished the warmup, we used to get into our practice.
So, during the warm-ups, there were 2 teams. Once MS Dhoni was given out which he didn’t think he was. He threw his bat and made a dash to the dressing room and came late for the practice. So, he does get angry, said Pathan.