MS Dhoni was caught on camera abusing teammate Khaleel Ahmed during a drinks break of the second ODI between India and Australia in Adelaide on January 15.
Dhoni is widely regarded to have a Zen-like persona so when he loses his cool it becomes a topic of national discussion. In his long and successful international career, Dhoni rarely lets his emotions get the better of him and exhibits an unflustered exterior in the face of strife.
At the Adelaide Oval during the second ODI, India was chasing a stiff total of 299 in order to level the three-match series. Having lost the first match by 34 runs, the pressure was firmly on the visitors as they were dubbed as the firm favourites to win the series.
Dhoni himself has been facing a lot of criticism for his batting exploits. While the team management has backed him to the fullest, the jury among the experts is still out on the former captain. The wicketkeeper-batsman's inability to rotate strike in the middle overs in the first ODI was widely deemed to be the reason India lost their way in the run chase.
Dhoni once again found himself in the middle during a run chase in the second ODI and was ably accompanied by skipper Virat Kohli. But after the latter's dismissal, the game opened up and Dhoni lost his cool during a drinks break at a crucial juncture in the chase.
Msd said to khaleel 'chu**ya' ?? pic.twitter.com/36ciPlogzb
— Prem Chopra (@premchoprafan) January 15, 2019
Dhoni can be seen calling 12th man Khaleel ch**iya. The reason for Dhoni's ire seems to be because Khaleel ran on the pitch with his spikes. It is well known that the condition of the pitch can be altered to suit the bowlers if a player runs on the "danger area" with their spikes. Thus, with the chase tantalisingly poised, Dhoni's anger on his teammate does not seem an exaggeration.
But this little situation did not hamper Dhoni as he, with the help of Dinesh Karthik, guided India to victory. Dhoni's old self was on display in the latter stages of the game as he took the match to the final over before smashing Jason Behrendorff over long on for a six to level the series.
A Twitter user saw the funny side of Dhoni's temper and wanted him to keep abusing as, according to him, this meant he wins games for his country.
*OBSERVATION*
— Akshit Sharma (@ShrmaGka_Ladka) January 15, 2019
Whenever Dhoni abuses a player; he always scores a match winning Half-Century and that too at a strike rate of 100+ !
Then- Manish Pandey!
Now- Khaleel Ahmed!
Hope MS keep abusing??#JustForFun