MS Dhoni is known as Captain Cool for a reason. The man hardly got angry on the field. Dhoni’s calmness is why he was so successful. Dhoni achieved a lot as a skipper. He did lose his temper with his teammates but not on the field.
Ex-India fielding coach R Sridhar revealed a rate instance when Dhoni blasted the players ahead of the 2015 World Cup. India played West Indies at home in an ODI series and the 2nd ODI was in Delhi. India did win but Dhoni was not happy with the substandard fielding.
In his book ‘Coaching Beyond: My Days with the Indian Cricket Team’, Sridhar revealed how Dhoni got furious and gave the players an ultimatum, as per TNN.
BCCI
“Getting back to my early days with the Indian team following MS’ inputs, we began to get out fielding house in order with the World Cup in mind. We were playing West Indies at the Feroz Shah Kotla in October 2014, a match we won comfortably but where we were absolutely shoddy on the field. MS was furious at what he perceived to be lack of effort and dipping fitness standards,” Sridhar wrote.
“In the dressing room, he ripped the team to shreds and gave them an ultimatum, making it clear that if they didn’t meet certain standards in fielding and fitness, they would not make the World Cup cut, no matter what name they answer to. That showed me the kind of fielding culture he was looking to establish in white-ball cricket,” the book said.
BCCI
India won all their group games in the World Cup and then overcame Bangladesh in the quarters. Their only defeat came vs eventual winners Australia in the semis.
India’s fielding would only get better in the coming years. In 2017, the BCCI made it compulsory for all players to pass the yo-yo test. The BCCI reintroduced the test in 2023. Team India is now one of the fittest sides in world cricket and players are required to prove they are fit before selection.