‘I want to express myself’: S Sreesanth narrates unknown story of MS Dhoni
It was during the India- Pakistan series when the former Indian captain MS Dhoni made a name for himself as a hard-hitting batter by smashing a magnificent score of 148.
Before that match, Dhoni had a string of low scores and was batting lower down the order something he was not happy about. In an incident involving him and Sreesanth the wicketkeeper batter said that he wasn’t getting the opportunity to express himself.
Before the India vs. Pakistan match in Kerala, John Wright (India’s head coach) called me to bowl in the nets. Kochi hosted the match. India vs. Pakistan, it was house full. Everyone was chanting ‘India, India, Sachin, Sachin’,” Sreesanth said in a chat on Sportskeeda.
Freedom to Express
“Dhoni bhai came and spoke with us (support players). I have not shared this story anywhere. When we were standing there, Dhoni bhai said ‘I want to express myself. I am not getting the chance where I can express myself,” he added.
While Dhoni was eager to prove his credentials, Sreesanth also showed keen interest in representing India in the future. “There was one more player with me from Kerala. Dhoni was talking with us. We even jokingly told him, ‘Dhoni bhai, even we will come in the team in 1-2 years’. He said with a smile, ‘Yes, sure. Why not. Just keep working hard.”
“At the dinner party, we just had a casual interaction. But I told him, ‘Don’t worry. Something tells me (you will play and do well soon).’ I have the habit of motivating the players sitting on the bench. You won’t believe it, the next match he played he scored a hundred. In the Duleep Trophy finals, he got a chance and he scored a hundred,” Sreesanth revealed.
The performance
Dhoni went on to score a hundred for India A and went on a run that made him indispensable to the senior Indian team forever. “Then he got a chance in India ‘A’, he scored hundred again, and then hundred again. Crazy journey man! So from playing Duleep Trophy against him in 2003/04 to winning two World Cups with him. Unbelievable journey. That’s why it is said you should not hope, you should believe.
“I am writing about this in my autobiography also. During the India vs Pakistan match, MS Dhoni told me ‘I don’t know what we have to do. You don’t know what makes you come here, but you know what to do here,” Sreesanth concluded.
