Former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said that despite feeling a gamut of emotions, he is good at controlling the negative ones a lot better than most.
“I am like everyone else but I control my emotions better than some of the other individuals,” Dhoni, who made his first commercial appearance since India’s semi-final exit from the World Cup, said on Wednesday.
Dhoni’s future has been a matter of speculation ever since India’s semi-final exit from the World Cup in July. The 38-year-old is on a sabbatical at the moment.
He added, “I would say, I feel equally frustrated. I also feel angry at times, disappointed. But what is important is that none of these feelings are constructive.”
Dhoni said, planning ahead, helps him tackle emotions better. He said: “What needs to be done during a particular situation is more important than any of these emotions. What is the next thing I can plan? Who is the next individual? whom I can use? Once I get into it, I am controlling my emotions in a much better way.”
Dhoni once again asserted that the process is more important than the final result. “If it’s a Test match, you have two innings, you get slightly longer duration to plan out your next move. In T20s, everything happens very quickly, so demands are different.
“It might be an individual, who has committed a mistake or it might be the whole team. Maybe, we didn’t execute the plan whatever the format may be. What you want to achieve as a team is to win the tournament but that’s a long-term goal. Ultimately, what you do is to break it into smaller things.”
He recalled how, during the 2007 ICC World T20 in South Africa, the team strategised the famous bowl out win against Pakistan.
“There was something particular about that World Cup. The bowl out was one of the things. Before every practice session, we would practice a bowl out before or after warm-up.
“We said it very clear, it is for fun but at the same time, whoever hits the wicket most number of times, we will use him if the situation arises.
“It has got nothing to do with I am a bowler, this is my job. It’s like a performance thing and we will keep doing it everyday and whoever has the best hit-ratio are the ones who will be used.”
Dhoni said team effort can never be discounted despite the many individual performers. He said: “Ultimately, winning or losing comes to each and every individual who is part of the team. In team sport, everybody has a role and a responsibility. Throughout the T20 World Cup, the roles and responsibilities given to individuals was fulfilled to the best manner possible. That was the reason we won the tournament.
“It’s not always about few of the individuals performing a lot better than the whole lot. What you want is for everybody to contribute. That one wicket at that right moment, that outstanding catch.”