‘MS Dhoni was furious’ – Ex-India fielding coach reveals rare moment of former Indian captain losing cool

Former India captain MS Dhoni is known for his calm and composed demeanor on the field. He hardly lost his cool during his career. However, the latest book of former India fielding coach, R Sridhar has shed a light on Dhoni’s unknown side. In the book, Sridhar revisited the ODI series between India and the West Indies in 2014. Fans might remember this series as the one in which the Caribbean side pulled out mid-series.

Meanwhile, during the second ODI between the two teams, the Men In Blue’s fielding was poor. Even though they won, Dhoni, as mentioned in Sridhar’s book, scolded the team for the same. The wicketkeeper batter wanted to put the team’s fielding in order as the 2015 World Cup was to be played in Australia and New Zealand.

“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 lack of effort and dipping fitness standards,” Sridhar, who became the fielding coach in 2014, wrote in his book ‘Coaching Beyond’.

MS Dhoni made it clear that the players needed to improve their fielding: R Sridhar

Sridhar, in the book, added that the players were ripped apart by Dhoni after the game. The former revealed that the players were asked to improve their fielding or get ready to miss the World Cup flight.

“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,” he added.