During the lockdown period, Dhoni made up his mind to call it a day on his legendary international career. He has played in the IPL regularly for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), but August 15, 2020, marked the end of an era in Indian cricket.

Dhoni is an extremely private person who rarely participates in interviews these days. However, some of his former teammates and team managers have revealed some interesting things about the erstwhile Indian skipper.

On the second anniversary of his retirement, here’s a look at five secrets about Dhoni that others spilled.

#1 When MS Dhoni was ready to play on one leg

Dhoni led India to many memorable championship wins, one of them being the Asia Cup 2016 triumph. This was an important year for India as they were going to host the ICC T20 World Cup for the first time ever. However, Dhoni suffered an injury at the gym while lifting weights.

Selector MSK Prasad was worried about him. The selection committee immediately added Parthiv Patel to the Indian squad ahead of the match against Pakistan. However, Dhoni told Prasad that he would play that game even though he was not fully fit.

During an interaction with young athletes at the Tamil Nadu Sports Journalists Association in 2017, MSK Prasad shared the details of his conversation with Dhoni, saying:

#2 When Ravi Shastri revealed he does not have Dhoni’s phone number

Ravi Shastri was the national head coach when Dhoni played his last game in Indian colors. Shastri had been around the Indian team for quite some time by then, but surprisingly, Dhoni never shared his phone number with him.

In a chat with Shoaib Akhtar on YouTube earlier this year, Shastri said:

#3 How MS Dhoni came close to youngsters

Former Australian cricketer George Bailey played under Dhoni’s captaincy for Chennai Super Kings and Rising Pune Supergiant. Sharing details of how he would bond with youngsters, Bailey said in a chat with cricket.com.au in 2018:

#4 When BCCI gave a special phone to MS Dhoni

Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag once shared a story of how captain Dhoni would not answer calls from BCCI officials. To ensure that they are connected with Dhoni, the BCCI secretary gave him a special phone number.

In a chat with Cricbuzz earlier this year, Sehwag said:

#5 What MS Dhoni does during ad breaks on TV

During an episode of Breakfast With Champions in 2018, former Indian cricketer Suresh Raina shared details of how Dhoni scolded his teammates during ad breaks on TV. Raina said:

MS Dhoni has confirmed that he will play for CSK in IPL 2023. It will be interesting to see how he performs next season.

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