MS Dhoni to ‘unaware’ Lakshmipathy Balaji after retirement post: Have asked groundsman to water the pitch more

In a very exciting revelation former India pacer Lakshmipathy Balaji has said that he was completely unaware of MS Dhoni’s massive retirement decision when the former Indian captain came to discuss on cricketing matters with him minutes after taking the call in his career.

Lakshmipathy Balaji, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) bowling coach, hailed the former Indian captain for his ability to detach himself from any situation, saying that he never stops and keeps moving in his own way.

The 38-year-old said that just like other days, MS Dhoni walked up to him after a training session at CSK camp to discuss on the cricketing matters and he was so causal in his approach that it never felt as if he had announced his retirement a few minutes ago. Balaji, who was completely unaware about MS Dhoni’s retirement at now famous 7.29 PM, was informed by the Ranchi-born that he had asked the groundsman to water the pitch more.

“After practice gets over, I normally talk a lot to Dhoni about the wicket, about practising and playing conditions. So that day, I finished practice and I went inside. I did not realise that he had already put his retirement message at 7:29 pm. So, after posting the message, Dhoni walked up to me as usual and he casually told me that he had asked the groundsman to water the ground extra for the pitch. I said okay. And I didn’t realise anything, it was a huge moment in his life.

“But, just like that, he moved on, and that’s Dhoni for you. I finally realised he announced his retirement. It took some time for me to sink in the moment. Dhoni’s uniqueness is the way he is detached. He will never stop no matter what the situation is, and moves on in his own style, Balaji told on Star Sports show ‘Cricket Connected’.

Balaji further added that there has be not a bigger cricketer than MS Dhoni after 2000 in terms of impact on the game. The Tamil-Nadu born said that he had only heard of hard-hitting and brutal batsmen before meeting MS Dhoni. Backing the CSK captain, Lakshmipathy Balaji said he would still choose Dhoni if 20 runs were needed to win from the last six balls. MS Dhoni changed the perception of leadership among all the captains, Balaji stated.

“From the year 2000, according to me, there’s nobody like Dhoni who’s had such a massive influence on not just Indian cricket but world cricket. I’ve heard about brutal hitting, hard-hitting that when someone hits the ball, it’ll be difficult for a bowler or a fielder to even keep their hands on the ball. I saw that for the first time with Dhoni.

“Even now if there are 20-plus runs needed to win in the last over and if I had to pick someone, it would always be Dhoni. Such massive impact he has. His leadership and his batting styles are totally different. His leadership changed the perception of leadership among all captains. The way he maintains his emotion on field, maintaining the team environment and camaraderie, leading the team successfully, only MS Dhoni could do it,” Balaji added.

MS Dhoni retired from international cricket on August 15 and is currently in UAE to play in the IPL 2020, which is set to kick off from September 19.