Jaipur: Former cricketers came down heavily on Mahendra Singh Dhoni for his on-field argument with umpires, saying the Chennai Super Kings skipper set a wrong precedent with his “bizarre and unbelievable” conduct during the IPL game here.
Revered for his ‘captain cool’ demeanour, Dhoni uncharacteristically lost his composure and rushed out of the dug-out to challenge umpire Ulhas Gandhe following his no-ball flip-flop during an IPL match against Rajasthan Royals on Thursday night.
While Dhoni was let off with a 50 per cent fine on his match fee, former England captain Michael Vaughan, and ex-Australian cricketers Mark Waugh, Michael Slater and Shaun Tait criticised the CSK skipper for his conduct. “The skipper (Dhoni) coming on to the pitch can not happen,” a livid Vaughan said.
“I know it’s MS Dhoni and he can do anything in this country but you are not allowed to leave the dug out and go and point a finger at the umpire. That’s a complete no-no, you can’t be setting that example as a captain.”
Tait, a former Rajasthan Royals pacer, said it was bizarre to see Dhoni storm onto the field. “You don’t walk onto the field. It’s not village cricket or under-10s cricket....I think Dhoni sometimes forgets he’s a player. You’re not an official, you’re a player, you can’t control the officials. It was a really bizarre look,” he was quoted as saying by news.com.au.
Michael Slater, who was commentating during the match, was also critical of Dhoni. “You will never see a captain storm out onto the field to have a discussion with the umpires,” Slater said.
Waugh took to twitter to express his disappointment with Dhoni. “I know there’s pressure from owners and big money involved in the IPL but I’ve been very disappointed with the two incidents involving Ashwin and MS,” he said.
