India’s most successful cricket captain MS Dhoni’s spot in the one-day team has come under focus after chief selector MSK Prasad’s recently said that his panel “will have to look at alternatives” if he does not deliver. However, Prasad by no means has given up on Dhoni if a recent anecdote shared him is to be believed.
Addressing young Chennai athletes an event on Sunday, Prasad, who was the chief guest, revealed how Dhoni had played in an Asia Cup match against Pakistan in Dhaka last year two days after suffering a major injury scare during a gym session.
“While training at the gym late in the night, Dhoni picked up weights and suddenly there was a catch in his back and fell with the weight,” Prasad said, as reported by Sportstar. “Thankfully, the weight did not fall on him. He could not walk, he was literally crawling. He pressed the alarm bell, and the medical staff immediately came and attended him. He was taken [out] on [a] stretcher.”
After being questioned by journalists on Dhoni’s fitness, Prasad went up to the then captain’s hotel room and asked him how bad the injury was. “[Dhoni] said, ‘Don’t worry MSK bhai.’ I even asked him what should I tell the scribes, and the answer again was ‘don’t worry MSK bhai’. I asked him whether we should call for a replacement, and he again told me not to worry.”
Despite Dhoni’s reassuring words, Prasad revealed that he rang up then chief selector Sandeep Patil and informed him of the situation. “Immediately, Parthiv Patel was sent in as a replacement,” Prasad said. “By evening, Parthiv had joined the team.”
The following day, Prasad again went up to check on Dhoni and he got the same reply from the skipper. “As per the Asia Cup rules, we had to submit the team list 24 hours before a game, so I had to check on him. He clearly said that he would play. Again at 11pm, when I went to his room, he was not there. Fortunately I went to the top floor and I saw Dhoni was trying hard to walk towards the swimming pool. He was literally crawling.”
He added, “Dhoni said he was trying to walk. I was thinking how could he even think of playing when he could barely walk. Dhoni looked at me and said, ‘Don’t worry, you have anyway got Parthiv without telling me. So, you are safe.”
As D Day arrived, Prasad said he was shocked to find Dhoni ready to play. “Before the team was announced in the afternoon, Dhoni was all dressed up for the game,” Prasad said. “He called me to his room and asked me why was I worrying so much? Then, he said, ‘Even if my one leg is not there, I will still play against Pakistan.’”
As it turned out, Dhoni led India to a five-wicket win over their arch-rivals. “This is what Dhoni is made of,” Prasad said.