MS Dhoni and his fans share a mutual love for each other and it is something that has been documented for years together. Yet, there was a time when he called out fans for their lack of support. The incident dates back to 2006 when England toured India.
In the third Test against England in 2006, Dhoni hinted that he had heard fans boo the host team at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. This was a time when the team wasn’t at the best and had lost the Test in Mumbai allowing the English to make a comeback in the Test series.
MS Dhoni, who was in Delhi for an event post the first ODI in the city, stated that the crowd didn’t get behind the team and “didn’t receive enough support.”
“We are not getting the support we want from our fans, particularly when things are not going well for us. I can understand if we are playing abroad, the support is going to be less for us there. When we are playing in India, we expect good support for us. It helps if you back us strongly. I don’t want to be specific but you know what happened in Mumbai and here [in the first ODI in Delhi],” Dhoni said at a function held in Delhi to felicitate him via EsPNCricinfo.
India, who drew the three-match Test series 1-1, won the seven-match ODI series 5-1. Yuvraj Singh, who celebrates his birthday today, was awarded the Player of the Series for his contributions.
MS Dhoni later went on to captain India across all three formats
MS Dhoni was appointed as the skipper of the Indian white ball team in 2007, with red-ball captaincy coming to him in 2008. Under his leadership, Team India went on to win the first Men’s T20I World Cup in 2007, a Men’s ODI World Cup after 28 years in 2011 and the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy in 2013.
Dhoni later announced his retirement from Test cricket in 2014 and gave up white ball captaincy to Virat Kohli in 2017. He continued playing as a wicketkeeper-batter and announced his retirement on August 15, 2020, with the semi-final against New Zealand in the 2019 ICC Men’s ODI World Cup being his last.
MS Dhoni is still an active player and will be in action in the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League. Fans will be waiting in anticipation to catch a glimpse of their beloved player when he walks out to bat.
Edited by Ankush Das
