Dhoni guides Jharkhand teammates to safety from hotel fire

By GS Vivek

New Delhi: MS always leads from the front, on the field, off the field and now even in an emergency situation. 

Dhoni was having breakfast with his Jharkhand teammates at ITC Welcome Dwarka hotel when he first spotted a thick blanket of smoke. Dhoni immediately sounded alarm. 

He guided his team out and directed the hotel staff to evacuate others too. "The fire had spread from the nearby mall and come towards our hotel, there was thick smoke and we didn't know what was happening, it was bit scary but none of us were hurt. We weren't to play the game as all our clothes and kits were inside the hotel," Dhoni told ABP News. 

Jharkhand players, including Dhoni were immediately asked to board the team bus and taken to the ground. The team didn't even have time to pick their kit since the fire from the nearby mall spread in the hotel commercial venue and thick smoke made difficult for players to even see and breathe. 

Dhoni and other players were given guest rooms at Palam to freshen up but their kit and dress were inside the room as well. Hence, the match had to be postponed.

"There was so much smoke that I couldn't see my room partner, I was afraid" says Saurabh tiwary, former India batsman. 

Former India under 19 skipper Ishan Kishan also said the scene was very bad. "I didn't know a thing, all I could see was lot of smoke and we all panicked," he says. 

Interestingly, Tamil Nadu team with likes of Dinesh Karthik, coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar were also in the same hotel but they are reported to be safe. 

The Jharkhand semifinal against Bengal will now be played tomorrow at Kotla while the final on Sunday has been postponed for a day further.