MS Dhoni once drove the team bus to hotel, recollects VVS Laxman

Laxman called Dhoni as one of the calmest people he had ever met and shared his experience of being in the side in 2011, the year when India was whitewashed both in England and Australia but skipper Dhoni kept his cool demeanour. Laxman also talked about how in his 100th Test in Nagpur in 2008, the Indian team bus was driven by none other than the then young skipper of the Test side. Dhoni was leading the Test side for the first time after the retirement of Anil Kumble in the previous match and this gesture surprised Laxman.

“One of my abiding memories is of MS driving the team bus to the hotel in Nagpur, during my 100th Test. I couldn’t believe my eyes — the captain of the team driving us back from the ground! It was his first Test in charge after Anil’s (Kumble) retirement, and he didn’t seem to have a care in the world. But he was like that, playful and grounded,” Laxman wrote in the book.

“MS Dhoni’s calmness and equanimity are legendary. He had seen nothing but success until the tour of England in 2011. We had lost 4–0 in England and had already lost the first three Tests in Australia by the end of that year, and were heading for another whitewash. I was a mess, as were most of the guys, but MS was unbelievably composed. Not once did he lash out, and at no stage did he give the impression that he was frustrated or helpless. I prided myself on being level-headed, but MS took it to another level when he said, ‘Lachi bhai, what is the point of feeling dejected and depressed? All it will do is harm your performance even more.’” 

Revealing about the moments after his retirement from international cricket, Laxman wrote, “After I informed the media of my decision to retire, the questions flowed. ‘Have you informed your teammates?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Have you spoken to Dhoni, what did he have to say?’ ‘Everyone knows how difficult it is to reach Dhoni,’ I joked. Little did I realise that this would trigger the first and only controversy of my cricketing career.”

“I had unwittingly provided fodder to the media, who started to speculate that I had retired in a huff because MS and I had differences, that there was a rift between us. It wasn’t funny at the time, but one of the headlines the following day read, ‘VVS, retired hurt’. I waited for the end of the Test and then went to the hotel to thank every teammate and member of the support staff individually.

“I waited for the end of the Test and then went to the hotel to thank every teammate and member of the support staff individually. When I met MS, he took one look at me and burst out laughing. ‘Laxman bhai, you are not used to all these controversies, but I am. Don’t take this to heart. We all know that sometimes, facts need not come in the way of a good story.’ I was once again struck by his maturity, his simplicity, and how easily he had put me at ease. Even today, despite repeated denials, people tell me — not ask, but tell — that I retired because of MS. I have learnt not to be affected by it anymore.”