R Sridhar shares unheard tale of 'Captain cool' MS Dhoni losing temper in dressing room

R Sridhar, a former India fielding coach, has published a book in which he discusses a variety of subjects related to his experience with the Men in Blue. An unknown tale of former India captain MS Dhoni losing his cool in the the locker room has been revealed through Sridhar's book. Dhoni is said to have urged Indian players to improve their fielding before the World Cup in 2015. But a year prior, Dhoni lost his cool following a game against the West Indies, the book claims. 

'Dhoni ripped the team to shreds and gave them an ultimatum'

Sridhar disclosed in his book that Dhoni was so upset with the team's effort on the field that he went to the dressing room and gave them an ultimatum, where he reportedly said that if any of the players didn't meet certain standards in fielding and fitness, they would be snubbed from the World Cup squad. This was after India won the match against West Indies by a comfortable margin. Sridhar noted that Dhoni's outburst showed the kind of fielding culture he was looking to establish in the team. 

"Getting back to my early days with the Indian team... following MS' inputs, we began to get out fielding house in order with the World Cup in mind. We were playing West Indies at the Feroz Shah Kotla in October 2014 - a match we won comfortably but where we were absolutely shoddy on the field. MS was furious at what he perceived to be a lack of effort and dipping fitness standards," Sridhar wrote in his book ‘Coaching Beyond: My Days With The Indian cricket team’.

"I feel quite a few things are missing. We have to pull our socks up. We have not played to our potential. This game is a crucial eye-opener for us. We are on the winning side, but we could have lost this," Dhoni said after the match against West Indies. 

"In the dressing room, he ripped the team to shreds and gave them an ultimatum, making it clear that if they didn't meet certain standards in fielding and fitness, they would not make the World Cup cut, no matter what name they answer to. That showed me the kind of fielding culture he was looking to establish in white-ball cricket," Sridhar added.

Dhoni retired from international cricket after playing the semifinal against New Zealand at the 2019 Cricket World Cup. Dhoni announced his retirement a year later on August 15, 2020. Dhoni will next be seen in action in IPL 2023 where he will lead Chennai Super Kings (CSK) probably for one last season. After the conclusion of IPL 2022, Dhoni had said that he wants to play another season for CSK so that he could give his fans a chance to watch him live before he retires from all formats of the game. 

Image: AP