Here’s Why MS Dhoni Never Allowed His Players to Give ‘Maa-Behen Ki Gaali’
MS Dhoni had stopped his players from using abusive language while sledging when he captain of the Indian cricket team.
The whole cricket world is a fan of MS Dhoni’s cool and calmness. The way Dhoni handled the situations in his unique way when he was captain of the Indian cricket team is there for all to see. Dhoni’s ability to read the game and guide his players happens to be one of the highlights of his career. In an article published in the Indian Express, which actually features the excerpts from Bharat Sundaresan’s book The Dhoni Touch, further reveals the calm side of Dhoni.
One of the excerpts from the book quotes Dhoni’s former teammate on how the former captain tackled with many situations during his first foreign assignment as captain in the ODIs. "The one-day leg of this tour came at the heels of a tumultuous Test series which, in addition to the Monkeygate fiasco, had seen the two teams at each other’s throats on and off the field. India felt robbed in Sydney when a few umpiring decisions, from Steve Bucknor in particular, went against them — this was six months before the birth of the decision review system (DRS),” reads the excerpt. India Has Sufficient Bench Strength in Pace Bowling, Says Zaheer Khan.
“Anil Kumble, the Test captain, had left for home at the end of the Test series but not before declaring: ‘
Only one team is playing in the spirit of the game.’ India won the next Test in Perth but lost the series. Ponting and Co. were all set for an encore in the one-day series. Dhoni, still only into his fourth year of international cricket and on his first foreign assignment as captain in the ODIs, was left to face the heat. He did it his own way — he reduced the friction between the two sides by simply not reacting to any stimuli. The Aussies were flabbergasted,” it adds.
In the excerpt the author further talks about how Dhoni doesn’t believe in the over aggression and why he stopped his players from using abusive language while sledging. Indian Batsmen Will Hold Key to Test Series Win in England: Sourav Ganguly.
“This was MS Dhoni’s style of war without bloodshed. It worked, and in the end he had a trophy to show for it. ‘Goli maarta hai apne style mein (He shoots in his own style.) He says the problem is if I allow my boys to give maa–behen ki gaali (swear words involving someone’s mother or sister); it’s they and not the one being subjected to it who’ll feel the pinch of what they’ve done for the rest of the day,’ one of Dhoni’s close friends explains. ‘He doesn’t believe in overt displays of aggression. He believes that if you want to hurt them, do it in your style, not in their way. If they believe in swearing, you don’t need to do it,’ he adds.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 22, 2018 03:10 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).