Although it has been almost half a year since MS Dhoni gave up captaincy, his non-captaincy days seem so far back in time, that it is actually hard to recall. Playing under the shadows of Test bigwigs, the Dhoni of the pre-2007 World T20 era was a reserved, unassuming player who let his boisterous bat do the talking. Part of the Indian team during their tour of the West Indies series in 2006, only the fourth Test series of his career, a meek Dhoni had to face an unusually irate Brian Lara in the middle of the pitch during the first Test. Playing his usual role of garnering quick runs towards the end of the innings, a bizarre incident halted his charge, and eventually India’s innings. Also read: Champions Trophy 2017: MS Dhoni is a legend and cannot be written off, says Makhaya NtiniWasim Jaffer had given India the initial thrust, becoming just the fourth from the country to register a double ton in the Caribbean, Dhoni was in beast mode, smacking the bowlers (Dave Mohammed in particular) with ease over the ropes. Off the fifth delivery of the 151st over of West Indies’ trauma, Dhoni hammered the ball to deep midwicket, where Darren Ganga, stationed for the exact shot, gobbled up a catch. Or did he? Umpire Asad Rauf was unsure. He first consulted fellow umpire Simon Taufel, then went upstairs to Billy Doctrove for some clarity. While taking the catch, Ganga seemed to have stepped on the ropes behind him, but the scarce TV cameras on that particular angle were not conclusive enough. The decision came back to the on-field umpire. That’s when the controversy started.
Brian Lara, obviously flustered by the situation of the match, asked the umpires to believe their version of the story, convincing them that Ganga had actually taken a clean catch.
He then went up to Dhoni. The former India captain recalled later to ESPNCricinfo: "Brian came up to me and said, 'I'm taking the charge of my players', as in taking the responsibility of his players, and 'I think you should walk off. What they say is going to be the truth'. Then we decided that I should walk off. He came late to me. Daren came first and it was tough for him because it (the rope) was on his back side. And it's hard to feel a piece of paper when it's behind you. So he was not entirely sure about it, he said, 'I'm not really sure if I stepped on it'." Captain Rahul Dravid, watching all of this from the balcony, seemed infuriated by the turn of events, and immediately waved his hands at the two batsmen in the middle, declaring the innings then and there. Since then, MS Dhoni has become the Test captain, led his side to the No.1 rank, and has retired from the format. That evening in Antigua, however, will stay as one of the most bizarre ones in his playing career. You can watch the incident here:
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