Former Indian team head coach Ravi Shastri recently recalled the time when he yelled at MS Dhoni because he was playing football before the Asia Cup Final. Discussing Dhoni’s love for football on Star Sports during the IPL 2022 coverage, Shastri said that during one of the editions of the Asia Cup, Dhoni was sliding on the ground just before the toss.
Shastri was worried because the match was against the arch-rivals Pakistan cricket team, and he did not want one of the main players of the team to be injured at the last moment because of football practice. So, he shouted ‘Stop the Game!’ as all players stopped along with MS Dhoni.
Describing Dhoni’s love for football on Star Sports, Shastri mentioned that the former Indian cricket team wicket-keeper batter has a great passion for football. Although he is a cricketer by profession, Dhoni leaves no chance to play football. He plays that game in practice and also in exhibition matches. Also, he owns a club based from Chennai in the Indian Super League.
“I remember before the Asia Cup final, there was dew, he went skidding five minutes before the toss. I’ve never yelled like that in my life, I said stop the game! Something like that. You don’t want to lose your main player in a game against Pakistan, because five minutes later was the toss,” said Ravi Shastri.
Ravi Shastri left the position of the Indian cricket team’s head coach after ICC T20 World Cup 2021
Shastri’s last tournament as the head coach of the Indian cricket team was the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 which happened in the United Arab Emirates and Oman last year. MS Dhoni was the mentor of the Indian team in that competition.
Despite having a strong squad and a star-studded backroom staff, the Indian team failed to qualify for the semifinals of that competition.
