Michael Hussey, the retired Australian cricketer and present Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batting coach, recently recalled an interesting but humorous incident involving MS Dhoni in the 2018 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. Hussey, who represented CSK during his playing career before turning to coaching, shared how Dhoni raged at him after getting out to Afghanistan’s star leg-spinner Rashid Khan in a decisive playoff match.
Prior to the high-pressure match, Michael Hussey was provided with an interesting breakdown by the team’s analyst. It was a split-screen analysis of Rashid Khan’s bowling grip showing a possible clue in his ball. From what was seen from the footage, when Rashid bowled the wrong’un, his fingers did not spread very far apart compared to his leg-break balls where his fingers were slightly apart before releasing.
Overjoyed by this revelation, Michael Hussey was torn—should he inform the batters on the eve of this pivotal game about this, or would it prove counterproductive and burden them with last-minute information? After long contemplation, Hussey resolved to keep it under wraps. But the next day, during the heat of combat, the worst came to pass.
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CSK was languishing at four wickets down, and MS Dhoni arrived to steady the innings with Faf du Plessis. Rashid Khan, brought on in the bowling, bowled his first and only delivery—a wrong’un. Lacking knowledge of the little clue Michael Hussey had picked out previously, MS Dhoni tried his luck with a cover drive, playing against spin. The ball slipped through and sent his stumps cartwheeling. CSK captain Dhoni, so renowned for his cool temperament, trudged back to the dugout rather frustrated.
MS Dhoni fumed at me during IPL 2018: ex teammate Michael Hussey#MSDhoni #MichaelHussey #IPL #csk #ChennaiSuperKings https://t.co/fpd6V44fAt
— India Today Sports (@ITGDsports) March 1, 2025
As he entered the dressing room, MS Dhoni locked eyes with Mike Hussey and, in his signature blunt style, let out a firm statement: “I’ll bat my own f*ing way, thanks.” He then sat down next to Hussey, leaving the former Australian left-hander stunned. Hussey humorously recalled how he sat frozen for the rest of the game, thinking that his coaching career had come to an abrupt end.
In spite of the dismissal of MS Dhoni, CSK survived narrowly, winning the game by two wickets and qualifying for the final. CSK later trounced Sunrisers Hyderabad again in the title match, bagging their third IPL title.
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Cut to 2024, and MS Dhoni is getting ready to make another IPL stint with CSK. With the tournament starting from March 23, CSK will launch their campaign against arch-rivals Mumbai Indians at their fortress, the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Dhoni, meanwhile, has already started preparing, hitting huge shots during CSK’s pre-season camp. His arrival at Chennai airport also fueled speculation, as he was spotted wearing a T-shirt with the mystery message: “One last time”—perhaps predicting his IPL farewell season.
