Dhoni is known for his calm demeanour on the field, regardless of the situation.
However, veteran pacer Ishant Sharma recently revealed that Dhoni has different moods while also adding that the latter often schools his players.
“When he is quiet and is seated somewhere quietly, then it means he’s in his zone. Something very serious is going through his mind. And if someone asks him something at that time, he gets furious,” Ishant told Ranveer Allahabadia in a YouTube podcast.
“He doesn’t get too much angry. Mahi Bhai ka gussa dekha hi nahi hai maine. He has gotten furious at me on the field,” he added.
When asked if he ever got scared by Dhoni’s anger, Ishant replied: “Yeah it happened once or twice.”
“It happened once when my throws didn’t reach his gloves. He got angry and said, ‘Haath mein mar le,” he further said.
Ishant Sharma also recalled an incident from Champions Trophy 2013 when Dhoni lost cool because of his error on the field.
“Bopara stepped back to Jadeja’s bowling. I thought he would loft and I was standing at mid-on. So, I went back already. But the batter played it towards mid-wicket and before I go down and take the catch, the ball had hit the ground and Bopara took 2 runs,” Ishant said.
“Dhoni didn’t say anything then. It was like fathers getting angry at their kids, the eye expressions were enough to understand that. But later, he came closer to me sand said, ‘Jab fielding nahi hoti wahan pe to khada mat hua kar. (Don’t stand there if you can’t field)’.
“I silently went at the short third man after that,” he added.
Ishant also shed light on Dhoni’s great sense of humour and his tendency of pulling legs of junior players.
“Calm and cool to nahi hai, he keeps on scolding his players. Even me… Just kidding. He has always told me things as his younger brother. In fact, I asked him why did u tease me so much. He said, ‘Main jise pyar parta hun, usi ko chiddhata hun (I only tease the ones I love),” Ishant said.
“He never comes to the bowling meeting. He doesn’t consider it his job. He says, ‘jo field par karna hai wo mujhe karna hai.’ The wicket and situation might demand other things which you aren’t prepared for. So, you need to go with an open mind.
Ishant also recalled how Dhoni once took Kohli to task for playing a shot that led to his dismissal in a Test match against Australia in 2013.
“We were playing against Australia, Shikhar Dhawan’s Test debut. The Test match got stuck in the second innings, however, we won. Shikhar could not bat in the second innings as he had fractured his thumb.
“The Test match got bogged down and Cheeku (Virat Kohli) got out. After winning the match, Mahi Bhai (MS Dhoni) said to Cheeku, ‘Jab Pata hai hum ek batsman short hain to wo shot maarne ki kya zarurat thi’ (When you know that we are one batter short then why did you play that shot?). He did not get angry but said one thing and made Virat realize it,” Ishant said.