Former India and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni’s approach to the game revolves around his icy cool demeanour in the face of mind-crunching pressure on the field. But if one were to encounter the odd moment and fall on the wrong side of Dhoni’s generally unwavering temper, the experience could be stunning and perhaps, eye-opening.
Dhoni’s former teammate and current CSK batting coach, Michael Hussey, recently described an incident with wicketkeeper-batter that left him gobsmacked during his first coaching season in the IPL.
Hussey, who represented CSK from 2008 to 2013 and returned for another year in 2015, joined the franchise as a batting coach in their comeback year following a two-year ban in 2018. Steering the side to the Playoffs, CSK were to meet SunRisers Hyderabad in the Qualifier 1 match where Dhoni’s men would be pitted against Afghan spin wizard Rashid Khan who was making waves in only his second season in the league.
“I love it. The talent there is unbelievable and you get to coach, ‘loosely’. It is more like not to try and stuff them (players) up, with some of the greatest players around,” said ‘Mr. Cricket’ as he reflected on his coaching journey in the Backchat Podcast.
“To be able to work with MS Dhoni, for example, the greatest finisher in the history of the game in my mind… I sort of used to pinch myself,” Hussey added before he revealed an iffy exchange.
Hussey said an exchange of data on Rashid Khan’s variations would not go down too well with Dhoni during the Qualifier 1 game later on.
