Dhoni recently decided to speak out about the Dhawan-Kohli dressing room spat, which led to the media believing that he feels threatened by Virat Kohli’s success among the BCCI.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni and controversy do not go hand in hand. The India captain is renowned for his calmness and composure on the field as well as off it.
However, an incident that transpired during the post-match press conference in Brisbane did put Mahi in negative light.
Dhoni decided to speak about the dressing room spat that occurred between Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan, claiming that it created unrest among the team.
On any other day, he would not have spoken about the incident in front of the media; he is too mature a person to act like that.
So what exactly pushed the India captain to talk about the dressing room incident? Is Dhoni threatened by Kohli’s growing popularity among the BCCI? Does he believe that the Indian vice-captain poses a threat to his captaincy?
Well, the media and the Australian team had a hearty laugh at the Indian team’s expense, thanks to the episode where the team manager Ravi Shastri was forced to intervene.
Viewers, who saw the Brisbane test match, know that it was Kohli that walked on to the pitch on the fourth day morning when it was supposed to be Dhawan. Apparently, the latter was struck on the wrist by a ball while practising in the nets.
![shikhar-dhawan-nets.[1]](https://www.youngisthan.in/userfiles/dhawan_kohli_spat/shikhar-dhawan-nets.[1].JPG)
Shikhar Dhawan then decided to not take the crease, in the process forcing Kohli to go out to bat. Kohli was indeed confused with the entire situation, as it was an impromptu decision leaving him with no other option. Virat was dismissed for the score of just 1 run in the innings.
The entire confusion resulted in Kohli storming to the dressing room and confronting Dhawan for not playing through the pain.
The incident could have been supressed had the Mahendra Singh Dhoni chosen that option. Instead, he decided to speak about it on more than one occasion during the press conference, giving the media enough material to write.
Media persons were also left wondering whether Dhoni felt threatened by Kohli’s success in the team and that further losses would result in him being replaced by the prolific batsman.
Finally, after a long time, Team India has developed a winning attitude. It came close to beating the host in both test matches. This team is young and the passion to succeed overseas drives them to go for win instead of a draw.
Virat Kohli did say after the first test match that even though his team was chasing over 300 runs, their goal was to go for a win. Would Dhoni have spoken to the team similarly had he been part of the squad or would he have opted for a draw?
The reason why Dhoni decided to speak out about the incident in the media is unknown and appalling at the same time.
The Boxing Day Test starts today at Melbourne. Will Team India be in the same frame of mind post Dhawan-Kohli spat?
Ricky Ponting has predicted this Test match could be India’s for the taking.
Let’s hope the boys put their issues behind and play as a team and go for a win.
