MS Dhoni reflects on controversial IPL outburst, calls it 'mistake'
What's the story
Former Indian cricketer MS Dhoni has finally spoken about the controversial incident from the 2019 Indian Premier League (IPL), when he confronted umpires over a no-ball decision.
The altercation took place during a match between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals at Jaipur's Sawai Mansingh Stadium on April 11, 2019.
With CSK needing eight runs from three balls in the final over, Ben Stokes bowled what was initially called a no-ball but was later reversed by the umpire.
Incident details
Dhoni's on-field confrontation led to fine
Dhoni's unexpected behavior during the match saw him storm onto the field and confront the officials. He was fined 50% of his match fees.
At a recent event, when Mandira Bedi asked him if he ever lost his cool, Dhoni admitted: "Lots of time. It has happened; one of the IPL games, it happened. I just walked on the field."
He called it "a big mistake."
High stakes
Dhoni acknowledges high stakes in cricket
Dhoni went on to explain the pressure of cricket: "But other than that, also, there have been instances where something gets triggered because we play a sport where the stakes are very high; you're supposed to win every game."
Despite his previous mistakes, Dhoni is still a part of CSK and hopes to break Suresh Raina's run record for the franchise in IPL 2025.
Future plans
Dhoni to play for CSK in IPL 2025
Ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction, the Chennai franchise has retained Dhoni for ₹4 crore.
CSK's opening match of IPL 2025 will be against Mumbai Indians on March 23 at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Dhoni currently holds the record for most appearances in IPL history, having scored 5,243 runs in 264 matches.
He needs just 18 more runs to surpass Suresh Raina's record and become CSK's highest run-scorer in IPL history.