MS Dhoni thought I didn't understand Hindi: When Monty Panesar tricked Team India legend

Former Indian captain MS Dhoni is widely regarded as one of the greatest wicketkeeper-batsmen of all time. During his leadership days, the wily veteran used to deceive many opposition batsmen with some clinical and last-minute thinking. The legendary cricketer often passed on advice and instructions to his spin bowlers while he was standing behind the stumps. As evidenced from a host of stump-mic recordings, MS Dhoni would pass his instructions in Hindi and as a result, several clueless batsmen throughout the years fell prey to his cunning tactics.

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Monty Panesar reveals how he outsmarted MS Dhoni during India vs England matches

Seasoned England spinner Monty Panesar recently interacted with the Times of India. During the interview, he recalled how he used to outsmart MS Dhoni during India vs England matches. Monty Panesar said that whenever he batted for England against India, MS Dhoni would give tips to his spinners from behind the stumps in Hindi. The 38-year-old English spinner even mimicked a few of the wicketkeeper’s lines by saying: “Ye cross line khelne waala hai, seedha daalo”. (Bowl towards the middle stump).

Monty Panesar revealed that he actually understands both Hindi and Punjabi to a “great extent”. He added that MS Dhoni used to think that he could not understand those languages, which is why he would continue to instruct his spinners loudly. Monty Panesar admitted he always continued acting in a manner that he did understand a word of his instructions, all in an attempt to outfox the legendary wicketkeeper.

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Their India vs England rivalry aside, Monty Panesar praised MS Dhoni for his ability to read the game. He believes Dhoni’s biggest strength is reading other people and yet others could never read him. The 50-Test veteran said that something or the other always crept up in the Indian wicketkeeper-batsman’s mind and no one could figure out his mindset while he successfully finished stiff run-chases for Team India.

IPL 2020: MS Dhoni in Chennai Super Kings colours

MS Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket earlier this month. He is now slated to represent the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) franchise in the upcoming Indian Premier League 2020 (IPL 2020) season. He has been on a sabbatical from competitive cricket since July 2019 and his return to the field as CSK captain remains one of the most talked-about aspects of the IPL 2020 event.

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Image credits: ICC and BCCI Twitter