'Focus on batting, don't raise your hand. I don't want to lose...': MS Dhoni's sharp retort to Ambati Rayudu

Hindustan Times

2 days ago

That captain cool MS Dhoni had a different side, like any normal human being, is no secret to cricket fans anymore. An otherwise calm as a cucumber Dhoni did not mask his anger when things got out of hand, whether it was his teammates or the opponent. Former India batter Ambati Rayudu revealed once such an incident when Dhoni, after being irritated by Rayudu's temper during IPL 2019, gave him an ultimatum. Ambati Rayudu (L) and MS Dhoni(IPLt20.com)
It was a simple yet firm message: focus on your batting and control your anger. Chennai Super Kings, the team that Rayudu represented then (Dhoni still does) in the IPL, could ill afford losing more Fair Play points for player behaviour.
Rayudu, who scored 1932 runs for CSK in 90 matches between 2018 and 2023, said Dhoni would often pull him up for his bad temper and say that he was like a cat on a hot tin roof. 'Sometimes, Mahi bhai would tell me — just like a tin roof heats up quickly, I also tend to lose my cool quickly," Rayudu said on 'Cheeky Singles.'
The former India batter said Dhoni would get angry and advise him to keep his hands down if he would complain about a non-wide call. We would point out to the umpire that a delivery was wide or a no-ball, and he would always tell me, 'Just focus on batting, don't raise your hand. I don't want to lose Fair Play points because of you'," Rayudu added.
Rayudu, however, was quick to poke fun at the legendary captain by adding that it was the same year when CSK were docked points because of Dhoni's entry into the ground while demanding a no-ball. "Interestingly, that same year, he himself walked onto the field — not because of me, but because we were losing.'
The incident happened during a CSK vs RR group stage match in Jaipur in IPL 2019. With just 8 runs required from the final three deliveries, Ben Stokes bowled a delivery that was first declared a no-ball. The umpire then reversed the call, triggering MS Dhoni to march onto the field in protest and challenge the decision. Dhoni was fined 50% of his match fees because of the incident. CSK, the eventual runner-up of the tournament after losing the final to the champions Mumbai Indians by 1 run, finished sixth in the Fair Play table.