Mohit Sharma has spent many years playing alongside Dhoni for both the Indian team and the IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings. He has seen the former India captain from close quarters and while wishing him on his 39th birthday, Mohit reveals some secrets of the closely guarded life of Dhoni.
“He understands a player extremely well. During my first year with the Chennai Super Kings, he didn’t ask me to set my own fields because he had seen what my strengths and weaknesses were. At that time, he wanted me to only handle the pressure of bowling and nothing more. He would ask me to just go about my job and not worry too much about the fields. He said he would take care of it and took the pressure off me,” Mohit said.
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“The next year, he told me that I was ready to set my own fields according to my bowling plan. When you have played the IPL for a year and have also played for India, how a captain makes the player matters a lot. Mahi bhai trusted me to take responsibility and that taught me a lot. I had a lot of success that IPL season and won the Purple Cap, In 2015 – because I take my time between deliveries – Mahi bhai said he wouldn’t tell me too many things and asked me to set my fields as I walk back to the top of my run-up," Mohit said in the chat show Homerun with AV with sports commentator Arun Venugopal on his YouTube channel Gethist Creative.
“Mahi bhai is a very good human being. That’s what makes him stand tall. There is so much you can learn from his off-the-field behavior. I try to imbibe some of his qualities in my life so that I can inspire at least one or two people,” Mohit added.
Mohit said that Dhoni makes everyone comfortable. He sees things positively and has nothing negative to talk about anything or anyone. As a leader, he wants to ensure that players learn from their mistakes and avoid repeating them.
“Kehte hai na ki ulti taraf dekhenge nahin toh ulte thoughts aayenge nahin (Like they say, if you don’t have a twisted approach to things, you won’t develop twisted thoughts). When you say good things, only good results follow. Such a positive approach doubles the joy of any conversation with him," he said.
MS Dhoni is also a good storyteller, Mohit revealed and said that he is accessible to everyone, even now.
"Whenever you ever sit down with Mahi bhai for a chat, he has so many stories to tell, so many anecdotes to narrate. The stories are also really enjoyable to listen to. Basically, he’s a very good story-teller, so it is always great fun to sit with him and chat," he said.
"Mahi bhai shuts his door only when he sleeps. We spend most of the time with him. In fact, there are quite a lot of players who obviously want to learn from someone like Dhoni when he is in your team. So, most of us players would try to spend our free time with him,” he added.
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Talking about getting in touch with the great man, now that his career is in its twilight, Mohit explained that he gets is accessible to anyone who has a problem and needs a solution from him.
He said, “He has said time and again that he is always open to any suggestion or anything. He has asked us to leave us a message in the event of him not taking calls, and that we would connect eventually. He has never once said that he would be out of reach or inaccessible. But I know that if there is any problem, I can always reach out to Mahi bhai. He is particularly helpful towards youngsters and has said my phone and my doors are always open."
