MS Dhoni's 5 most recent altercations with journalists

All is not well with India’s limited-overs captain, MS Dhoni. No, he is still as quick as he was when running between the wickets, he is still lightning quick while adding to his record tally of stumpings, he can still hit a six off his first ball, and his brain still functions the best when the game is tightest and other players experience brain freezes.

However, there is a new face of Dhoni visible these days whenever confronted with journalists, a face that betrays the pressures of a decade of dealing with the questions and expectations of a cricket-crazy nation. The captain’s altercations with journalists are happening at an alarming frequency these days, and surprisingly, are often being initiated by him.

Such is the state of affairs that Dhoni’s jokes, which earlier used to send roomfuls of journalists at press conferences into splits, now mostly draw exchanges of confused looks.

On Sunday, he began answering questions at an IPL promotional event by saying, "Depending on the quality of questions you ask it may go up to six in the next (such press conference) or come back to zero.”

No previous captain has been known to be so aggressive with the media, but perhaps no previous India captain has had to face this degree of aggression from the media either.

The question as to when he will retire has been posed to him in almost every second press conference he has attended since around 2012.The last few years have taken their toll, and now there is perhaps a defence mechanism which Dhoni carries around whenever he sees journalists around. And so, sometimes without any instigations, he lashes out.

The five most recent instances when his words left reporters stunned:

Helicopters in submarines

Before the series decider in the 3-match T20 series against Sri Lanka in February, Dhoni was faced with an uncomfortable volley of questions (some on how he was treating Yuvraj Singh), but let loose at a surprisingly harmless question.

Towards the end of the session, one elderly reporter was heard asking Dhoni why he did not play his famous helicopter shot anymore.

At this, he hesitated for a moment before embarking on a lengthy philosophical discourse. He said, “See, a helicopter needs a particular place to fly. If you go underwater into a submarine and ask why there are no helicopters there, then that will be a problem. I cannot play it to a bouncer unless I get a stool with me.”

The patronising tone of the answer was a little surprising, but not criticised much. It was said that he could have deflected the helicopter question politely, it was also said that the questions about his treatment of Yuvraj had tipped him close to boiling point. Yuvraj was then being pushed down the order and not being given time to settle back into the international fold, and there were questions asked about this.

However, not many were prepared for how vindictive the India captain would become in the coming month.

What is your name?

In late February, as the Asia Cup and the World T20 loomed, there were fears that Dhoni could be preparing for a shock announcement of retirement, like he had suddenly stepped down from the Test format in December 2014 midway through a series.

Such questions were posed to him in Delhi and in Kolkata as Team India prepared to depart for Bangladesh to play the Asia Cup.

"You write me a requisition and a letter, asking me tell you 'thank you' and step down,” Dhoni responded.

Dhoni questioned a reporter’s right to be asking the retirement question, saying that he should have some grounds for asking the question that had been asked previously as well.

"If I answer a question one month before or 15 days back, the answer does not change in 15 days, irrespective of where I am answering. The answer remains the same, it is like what is your name.”

Net Run Rate

After India’s nailbiting 1-run win over Bangladesh in the World T20, Dhoni was uncharacteristically sharp with a reporter as well. Asked whether he was happy about India’s poor net run rate as a result of having only by 1 run, Dhoni let loose.

He said, “Listen to me. Hearing you, your tone and your question, it’s clear that you aren’t happy that India has won. You have to analyse that after losing the toss, what was the reason that we couldn’t make many runs on that wicket. If you aren’t analysing these things sitting outside, then you shouldn’t ask this question.”

He was speaking right after pulling off one of the greatest turnaround victories ever, and so the extra passion may perhaps be excused, but his reply did not pertain to the question asked of him.

While it eventually turned out that net run rate would be inconsequential in terms of qualifying from the group, at that stage it had looked like it could come into play and India had one of the worse run rates, and so the question had been a legitimate one.

Jibe without provocation

Before India’s last group match against Australia, Dhoni was uncharacteristically aggressive without provocation with the media contingent that had come to cover the team’s final practice session.

After the team had finished a game of football during the session before commencing on net practice, Dhoni walked up to the reporters and asked them, “Cricket kheloge?” (Would you like to play cricket?)

The reporters did not know how to respond to this and no answer was forthcoming. Then Dhoni fired, “Agar tum khel sakte, toh tum yahan hote aur hum wahan.” (If you could play cricket, you would be on the field while we would be where you are).

Dhoni then walked back to rejoin the rest of his team as his red-faced audience looked this way and that.

Dhoni vs Australian journalist

The most spectacular altercation that Dhoni has had in the recent past is also off the field, with an Australian journalist. After the defeat to West Indies in the semi-final meant that Dhoni would not have a third World Cup trophy in his kitty, he seemed to lose all sense of propriety in the press conference that followed.

After the retirement question got popped yet again, Dhoni called the unfortunate journalist on the podium and made him sit beside him, putting his arm around his shoulders and stroking his beard in mock thoughtfulness.

Dhoni said that he wished his victim had been an Indian reporter, so that he could have asked him if he had an younger brother or son who was ready to take up the role of India wicketkeeper. Then he turned to the reporter and asked a series of rhetorical questions which ended with the two people on stage agreeing that Dhoni was good enough to last till the 2019 World Cup.

The Australian reporter enjoyed a rise of status as a result of that episode, he said that he had taken a bullet meant for his Indian colleagues in the media. It was Dhoni himself whose ‘Captain Cool’ moniker received some damage.