"MS just kicked it out of the park" - Former CSK player S. Badrinath recalls a moment when Dhoni lost his cool during an IPL match

Subramaniam Badrinath played a crucial role for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) under Mahendra Singh Dhoni's captaincy in the early years of the Indian Premier League (IPL). While Dhoni is celebrated for his calm leadership and has guided CSK to five IPL titles, there have been occasional accounts of him losing his temper in the dressing room.

In a recent interview with InsideSport, Badrinath, who played alongside Dhoni for six seasons, revealed that while the keeper-batter generally maintained his composure, he occasionally lost his cool. Badrinath recounted an incident where Dhoni, frustrated after a low-scoring defeat to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), kicked a water bottle in anger. He said:

"In this match against RCB in Chennai, we were chasing 110 odd. We lost wickets in a hurry and we ended up losing the match. It was one of those matches where we couldn’t get 110 against RCB in Chepauk."

"I got out to a lap shot against Anil Kumble. I got myself LBW. He was coming inside the dressing room (MS Dhoni) and I was standing right there and there was a small water bottle in front of me and MS just kicked it out of the park and I was oh my god! We were all trying to avoid eye contact with him in that dressing room," he added.

MSD last played during the IPL 2024 season, where he amassed 161 runs in eight innings at an impressive strike rate of 220.55. It will be intriguing to see if the former CSK captain returns for the 2025 season.

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Subramaniam Badrinath has scored over 1,000 IPL runs for CSK

Subramaniam Badrinath joined Chennai Super Kings in the inaugural season and remained with the franchise until 2013. Over his tenure, he featured in 95 matches for the Chennai-based team, amassing 1,441 runs, including 11 half-centuries.

The 44-year-old announced his retirement from all forms of cricket in 2018. In his international career, he played two Tests, seven ODIs, and one T20I for India.