MS Dhoni has been one of the finest captains in world cricket. He seems to have defied age and continues playing cricket at 44. Though retiring from international cricket, he continues to play the Indian Premier League (IPL). Dhoni is the only captain in world cricket to win all three ICC trophies (T20 World Cup, ODI World Cup, and Champions Trophy).
However, he continues to feature for Chennai Super Kings (CSK), and he was joined by sportsbroadcaster and commentator Jatin Sapru in a YouTube conversation. Here he was asked if he had any plans of coming to commentary.
MS Dhoni replied that he has no plans of doing commentary and also showcased the reason behind saying no. Apart from the delicate nature of the job, Dhoni also feels that he is not good at remembering stats, even his own, which puts him at a disadvantage.
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MS Dhoni said while interacting, “Commentary is very difficult. I feel there is a very fine line between describing the game and in that process getting into a zone where you start criticising individuals who are playing the game. It’s a very thin line.” “Often, you don’t even feel that what you are doing is may be borderline wrong. You would always like to be on the other side where you are describing the game. If you feel something is wrong you say it out.
‘I’m not good with stats’- MS Dhoni
“But how to put it, that is also an art, how to politely put it forward where nobody feels targetted…If the team is losing there are reasons behind it, and you need to have the skill of describing those reasons without anybody feeling bad. That is the art of commentary,”
“I’m not good with stats…but there are a lot of people who are very good with stats. They know stats…If you ask me about my stats, I’ll be like hmmm and there are certain people who know stats about not just Indian cricket team or the Indian players but everyone throughout the era.”
MS Dhoni is a good listener
Dhoni, who is known to be calm and composed on the field even during tense situations, was asked if he had to take any cricketing advice or life. In reply, he said, “I’m a very good listener. Yes I do speak with people who I’m comfortable with. But I’m more of a listener than a speaker. And if I don’t know about the topic I don’t speak much because I will be absorbing more if I’m listening,” he said.
“I never feel that urge to contribute if I don’t know…being a good listener you don’t always have to look for advice…They keep floating around just with certain people who you are having a conversation with. You need to have that intelligence to figure out what works the best for you.”
Dhoni finally concluded, saying that he has still not been a person who can communicate on the phone. MS Dhoni said, “I’m not good in that way of communicating. I like to sit across and speak to people. I’m not someone who’s very good over the phone because I can’t see a face. So, I’m a very awkward guy when it comes to speaking on the phone.”
Also Read: MS Dhoni-Virender Sehwag dressing room truth exposed by ex-India cricketer