The last time we saw former Indian skipper, MS Dhoni in action was at the World Cup 2019 semi-finals. The run-machine had tears in his eyes as he walked towards the pavilion after losing his wicket to the Kiwis. Ever since then Dhoni has been on a break from cricket. He served the Indian Army in Kashmir as Lieutenant Colonel and spent quality time with his family.
In a recent press meet, the former Indian cricket team captain opened up about how he deals with the emotions that flood in with every triumph and debacle on the ground.
“I am like everyone else but I control my emotions better than some of the other individuals,” Dhoni told TOI.
He has also faced immense backlash for his ‘poor’ game in the recent past. Many want him to retire and Dhoni admits it’s frustrating for him to face it all.
“I would say, I feel equally frustrated. I also feel angry at times, disappointed. But what is important is that none of these feelings are constructive,” he told Mid-Day.
Dhoni believes that the process is more important than the result and he focuses on finding solutions rather than cringing about the problems.
“What needs to be done right now is more important than any of these emotions. What is the next thing I can plan? Who is the next individual, whom I can use? Once I get into it, I am controlling my emotions in a much better way,” he said.
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Talking about how different cricket formats have to be treated differently, the former captain who lead India to World Cup victory two times, said,
“If it’s a Test match, you have two innings, you get slightly longer duration to plan out your next move. In T20s, everything happens very quickly, so demands are different. It might be an individual, who has committed a mistake or it might be the whole team. Maybe we didn’t execute the plan whatever the format maybe.”
Dhoni believes that winning a match requires team spirit. “What you want to achieve as a team is to win the tournament but that’s a long-term goal. Ultimately, what you do is to break it into smaller things,’ he explained.
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Recalling the ‘Ball Out’ against Pakistan at the 2007 ICC World Cup T20, Dhoni said,
“There was something particular about that World Cup. The ‘Bowl-Out’ was one of the things. I remember we would go for practice. Before every practice session, we would practice ‘Bowl Out’ before or after the warm-up.
“We said it very clear, it is for fun but at the same time, whoever hits the wicket most number of times, we will use him if the situation arises. It has got nothing to do with I am a bowler, this is my job. It’s like a performance thing and we will keep doing it every day and whoever has the best hit-ratio are the ones who will be used,” he added.
Stressing on the importance of team effort, Captain Cool said,
“Ultimately, winning or losing comes to each and every individual who is part of the team. In a team sport, everybody has a role and responsibility. Throughout the T20 World Cup, the roles and responsibilities given to individuals were fulfilled in the best manner possible. That was the reason we won the tournament.”
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“It’s not always about a few of the individuals performing a lot better than the whole lot. What you want is for everybody to contribute. That one wicket at that right moment, that outstanding catch,” he concluded.
It was refreshing to hear such wise words from the ace skipper. Can’t wait to see him making a