How MS Dhoni led India to ICC CT win after IPL 2013 controversy? Arun Pandey discloses

Legendary Indian cricketer MS Dhoni celebrated his 39th birthday on Tuesday. The former India captain is one of the greatest captains to have graced the sport. MS Dhoni is known for his cool and calm demeanour on the field, which is also cited as one of the reasons behind his success. The 39-year-old has kept himself away from controversies more often than not.

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MS Dhoni birthday: CSK captain's close friend reveals how Dhoni led India to Champions Trophy 2013 triumph

However, in 2013, an infamous IPL fixing scandal came to the fore. Three Rajasthan Royals players S Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila were arrested during the tournament for their involvement in the IPL fixing scandal. Additionally, during the investigation, CSK team owner, N Srinivasan’s son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan’s name cropped up.

Meiyappan was accused of betting and passing on the team information to the bookies. He was usually seen with CSK and used to sit in the dugout as well. In February 2014, Meiyappan was also found guilty of the same even as the CSK denied any role of his with the franchise, despite attending many workshops and events officially in the capacity of Team Principal. However, as he was always spotted with the team, it was deemed as the franchise’s mistake and CSK were eventually suspended for two years.

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While speaking to ESPNCricinfo, MS Dhoni's close friend and manager Arun Pandey said that just after the IPL fixing scandal came to light, the Indian team was set to leave for England to take part in Champions Trophy 2013. He added that before departing for England, MS Dhoni addressed a press conference but did not answer a single question because all of them were related to the IPL fixing scandal.

Pandey revealed that he still remembers the atmosphere around the team on the night of their departure which was marked by fear, insecurity and caginess. Pandey was terrified of the situation and asked MS Dhoni the plan ahead. In response, MS Dhoni asked Pandey if he had done anything wrong. The MS Dhoni movie co-producer replied in the negative. The CSK captain then asked him if he (Dhoni) had done anything wrong? Pandey once again said 'no'. MS Dhoni then did not see any reason for them to worry.

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Pandey further revealed that five days later, when they reached England, MS Dhoni had worked his magic on the rest of the boys too. Pandey reckoned that MS Dhoni has been obsessed with keeping things simple, with getting his team to do what it knows best as opposed to them trying to become something else. India then went on to lift the Champions Trophy 2013 as they won all their games in the tournament. In the process, MS Dhoni became the only captain in the world to win all three ICC trophies as captain.

Recently, India celebrated the 7th anniversary of that tournament win. Virat Kohli, the current Indian captain, in an interview in 2017, claimed that the team was young and just looking to enjoy themselves with each other on the field, making the most of England's ground and crowd support for the Indians. He termed it a 'very special win' for him and the team.

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IMAGE COURTESY: TWITTER/CSKFANSOFFICIAL