MS Dhoni being led the Team to multiple ICC titles will now head to the 2019 World Cup hoping to lift what could be his last ICC trophy as a player. When it comes to man-management skills, MS Dhoni is second to none. However, it looks like Paddy Upton, former mental conditioning coach of Team India has made several revelations in his book Barefoot, mentioning Dhoni’s idea of funny punishment to prevent the members of the Indian team from coming late to practice.
Upton’s Story On Indian Team Dressing Room
Former India mental conditional coach Paddy Upton, in his recent book Barefoot, has made few interesting disclosures about the Indian dressing room. Upton spoke about MS Dhoni, who in his own unique way introduced a sense of punctuality in the Indian players. When Upton joined the team in 2008, Anil Kumble was the captain of the Test team and MS Dhoni was the captain of the ODI team. The team was asked to be on time for practice and team meetings. Both captains had a suggestion in mind but MS Dhoni’s idea came with a bit of a twist.
In the beginning, Anil Kumble suggested a fine of Rs 10,000 for latecomers, and later Dhoni, in his own unorthodox way, added a different twist to the punishment. The former captain said that if a player was late, along with him, the rest of the side would also have to pay Rs 10,000.
Upton on MS Dhoni
“In the test team, Anil Kumble said that the consequence would be a ten thousand rupees (10,000) fine which the person who was late would have to pay. And then we had the same conversation with the one day team and there also MS (Dhoni) said that ‘yes there should be a consequence. So if somebody is late, everybody will pay ten thousand rupees fine!’ Nobody was ever late from the one day team again,” the Upton recalled.
“Dhoni’s real strength is his calmness and self-control, regardless of the situation of the game. And being such a strong leader, using his level-headedness in tough situations, he gives the other players permission to remain calm and composed. That I think is the real strength that he has,” said Upton during a media event for his book The Barefoot Coach in Kolkata.
As time went flying, Anil Kumble retired from Test cricket in 2008 and MS Dhoni took over as India cricket team captain in all three formats. Dhoni, who had already led India to T20 World Cup glory in 2007, would go on to win the 2011 World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy. Under MS Dhoni, India also became the No.1 Test team in the world.
Source: IN
