'I control my emotions better than others' – Dhoni

Arguably one of the best cricketing minds around, MS Dhoni knows how to bring the best out of himself and his teammates when the going gets tough. He has demonstrated this ability on the biggest of occasions, be it his match winning 91* in the final of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2011, or his smart rotation of bowlers during the finals of the ICC Champions Trophy 2013, which helped India defend a modest 129/7 in 20 overs to lift the title.

The 38-year-old admitted that he controls his emotions better than some of his teammates.

“I am like everyone else but I control my emotions better than some of the other individuals,” said Dhoni, who made his made his first media appearance since India’s semifinal exit from the World Cup 2019. “I would say, I feel equally frustrated. I also feel angry at times, disappointed. But what is important is that none of these feelings are constructive.”

The former captain puts more emphasis on planning his next move and believes that realizing the value of short-team goals helps to achieve bigger success.

“What needs to be done right now is more important than any of these emotions," said the veteran, who has made 538 international appearances for India across the three formats. "What is the next thing I can plan? Who is the next individual, whom I can use? Once I get into it, I am controlling my emotions in a much better way. If it’s a Test match, you have two innings, you get slightly longer duration to plan out your next move. In T20s, everything happens very quickly, so demands are different.

“It might be an individual, who has committed a mistake or it might be the whole team. Maybe we didn’t execute the plan whatever the format may be. What you want to achieve as a team is to win the tournament but that’s a long-term goal. Ultimately, what you do is to break it into smaller things.

Dhoni, who led India to glory on his first ever assignment as India captain, helping them win the inaugural edition of the ICC T20 World Cup in 2007, reminisced over the fond memory of the bowl-out after a tied finish against Pakistan in the group stage fixture, and cited it as a great example of individuals embracing different roles and responsibility.

“There was something particular about that World Cup. The ‘Bowl-Out’ was one of the things," he said. "I remember we would go for practice. Before every practice session, we would practice ‘Bowl Out’ before or after the warm-up. We said it very clear it is for fun but at the same time, whoever hits the wicket most number of times, we will use him if the situation arises. It has got nothing to do with I am a bowler, this is my job. It’s like a performance thing and we will keep doing it everyday and whoever has the best hit-ratio are the ones who will be used.

“Ultimately, winning or losing comes to each and every individual who is part of the team. In team sport, everybody has a role and a responsibility. Throughout the T20 World Cup, the roles and responsibilities given to individuals was fulfilled to the best manner possible. That was the reason we won the tournament.