MS Dhoni’s achievement as a cricketer is surreal, to say the least. The 41-year-old has etched his name as one of the finest captains in the history of the game.

Dhoni is the only skipper in the history of cricket to have won all three ICC white-ball trophies – 2007 World T20, 2011 Cricket World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy. He also led India to the pinnacle in Test cricket.

While Dhoni has retired from international cricket in 2020, he continues to feature in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Chennai Super Kings (CSK). He captained CSK to a record-equalling fifth IPL title earlier this year.

Dhoni is blessed with a shrewd cricketing brain and he has displayed it time and again over the years. His field placements and the way he plots the dismissal of quality batters is a testimony of it.

Recently, a video emerged on social media, in which Dhoni gave a glimpse of his street smartness as a person and cricketer. He narrated a story about him getting to know Bangladesh team’s plans due to his understanding of the Bengali language, which he grasped while working in Kharagpur for the Indian Railways.

“While I was working in Kharagpur, I used to speak Bengali well. Now, if I speak it, I will commit some mistakes, and people might be offended. But I can understand Bengali very well. If you speak Bengali near me, I will figure it out,” Dhoni said in the video.

“Interestingly, once, we were playing a match in Bangladesh, and they didn’t know I understood Bengali. Their keeper was suggesting something to the bowler, so I already knew what he would bowl,” he added.

“So, once the match ended, they (Bangladeshi players) were talking among themselves and seeing my reaction, they were like ‘Ae ekata Bengali bujhte badi (He understands Bengali)’,” he further stated.

Dhoni is likely to be seen in action during the 2014 edition of Indian Premier League (IPL). He underwent a knee surgery soon after the completion of the IPL 2023 season and has made a good recovery so far.