Picture Credit: Twitter
Former India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is regarded as one of the finest captains in world cricket. Apart from being easily approachable and his down-to-earth nature, one quality that makes the 41-year-old different from others is his brilliant presence of mind. The Chennai Super Kings skipper led his team to lift their fifth IPL title in the 2023 edition of the tournament and became the joint-most successful captain to win the cash-rich league alongside Mumbai Indians’ skipper Rohit Sharma.
There have been several incidents when the 41-year-old has changed his team’s fate by showing his presence of mind and brilliant tactics on field, and one of them was recalled by the KKR player Venkatesh Iyer.
The Kolkata Knight Riders batter Venkatesh Iyer made his appearance on Raj Shamani’s podcast, where he told how he was left shell shocked by his dismissal during a game against CSK and having a word with Dhoni post-match. Iyer recalled that he got out at short third man, and when he turned, he saw that the fielder wasn’t standing at his usual position.
Watch the video here:
Speaking to Shamani, Iyer said, "Just this year, I was batting, and I played a shot and got out at short third man. I turned around and saw 'He is standing wrong. That's not where a fielder stands. He is standing at a wrong position; he should be more to the right. Then I realised 'Oh'. I asked him after the match, 'Bhaiyya, kyu?' (Why?) He said the way the ball was leaving my bat; the fielders should be a lot fine. Then I was like 'WOW! I never even thought like that. To think so quickly then and there, and to understand the angle – cricket is all about angles – to read it is I think his biggest strength.”
Shamani asked Iyer if he ever felt starstruck with somebody’s presence. On it, the Madhya Pradesh-born cricketer said, "It has only happened with MS, like when I went to bat and realised that he is standing right behind me. Before the match, we are busy in our warm-ups when suddenly you hear the public scream out of nowhere. When you turn around, you see MS is walking from the dugout. He is so chill and doesn’t create a parity between youngsters and established legends like themselves.”
Notably, Iyer made his India debut in November 2021, and has played two ODIs and nine T20Is so far.
