'Was Very Irritated With Him...': Former India And CSK Teammate Opens Up On MS Dhoni's IPL Captaincy

Dhoni's ex-India and CSK teammate has shared what makes his leadership style so different from others.

Chennai Super Kings' captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (C) shakes hands with a teammate after winning the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket match between Chennai Super Kings and Lucknow Super Giants at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on April 3, 2023. ( Image Source :AFP )

Legendary India captain MS Dhoni announced his retirement from all international cricket in 2020. Ever since then, he has only been plying his trade in the Indian Premier League for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Apart from his incredible success as the leader of Team India, he has also been effective as the skipper of the Chennai franchise, leading them to as many as five IPL titles.

And now one of Dhoni's ex-India and CSK teammate has shared what makes his leadership style so different from others. He shared one anecdote from a match in which he was in the opposition dugout in the IPL while also sharing an instance showcasing the man's tactical genius from a match in which was in the same team.

Dhoni's former teammate in question here is Robin Uthappa who lifted the 2007 T20 World Cup under him and also went on to win the IPL with the wicketkeeper-batter at the helm.

"When I played against CSK, I used to be very annoyed. I was very irritated with him. (Narrating an incident playing on-screen) He didn't have a fine leg for Hazlewood, so I knew he will bowl to this angle (outside-off). I tried getting a boundary there (deep point), and got out. He forces you to play in areas wher eyou're not used to playing. He plays with batsmen's mind. He not just forces the batsmen to think differently, he forces the bowlers to think differently as well," Uthappa said on Jio Cinema.

"He puts the bowler in a situation where he feels that he need to take that wicket-taking option. Devdutt was playing the pick-up shot really well. So he said, 'okay, we will force him to play that shot', and he brought the fine leg more into a leg-gully sort of a position. I was like, 'where does he come up with these things?'," he added.

Talking about CSK's run in IPL 2023, they started off with a defeat in their away game against Gujarat Titans but pulled things back in their home fixture against Lucknow Super Giants. They will now travel for the game against Mumbai Indians in what is dubbed as the El Clasico of the tournament.