It is a well-known fact that MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina have shared the Indian dressing room for a lot of times. They also were part of the Indian team which lifted the 2011 World Cup and the 2007 World T20 as well.
The duo also had been mainstays for Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League. After spending so much time together, both know each other a lot and Raina opened up about Dhoni in an interview on ‘Breakfast with Champions.’
Explaining Dhoni’s behavior on and off the field, Raina said, “He doesn’t wear goggles and it is very difficult to predict what he is thinking. His eyes will remain the same and you feel like telling him that ‘show some emotion’. But he gets angry a lot of time. You can’t see it on the camera but when he knows that there is a TV break, he will say ‘sudhar ja tu‘.”
Raina gave an example of how Dhoni once asked him to build pressure on Umar Akmal during an India-Pakistan game. He said, “Once we were playing in Pakistan and Umar Akmal was batting and he complains to Dhoni that Raina is abusing me. I just said I did not abuse him. He asked me what happend and I told him that I was trying to throw at Umar and asked him to score some runs and chase down the target.”
He further elaborated, “Dhoni told me ‘give him more’. This means to break him and build some pressure on him. He a very good reader of the game. He knows what is going to happen and he knows the next step. He has three games ready like ‘plan A,’ ‘plan B,’ and ‘plan C’. He always takes three plans to the ground whether he batting, fielding, wicketkeeping or captaining the side. He plans in the night and then visualizes in the morning using his subconscious mind.”
Dhoni led India to 2011 World Cup win and 2013 Champions Trophy win and Raina played a crucial role in both the squads. Explaining Dhoni’s on-field strategies on-field, Suresh said, “He has made all this around him. He has given the boys chance in the team thinking that this is my team. His game-reading skill was different. Like a chess player, no one can read his movements. Like they say when he is chasing. He visualizes a lot. He steps out and then takes a single. That is not is not his game but he wants to tell the bowler that I can step out as well. He plays with the bowler as well.”
