IPL 2019 | MS Dhoni questions quantum of punishment hand to CSK by Lodha Committee in 2015

03/20/2019

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Six years after the infamous spot-fixing IPL scandal, MS Dhoni has questioned the quantum of the punishment dished out by the Lodha Committee, asking where he and the players went wrong. The 37-year-old also explained his relationship with Chennai Super Kings to that of an arranged marriage.

Dhoni has revealed that when the extent of punishment for Chennai Super Kings was finally revealed in 2015 by the Lodha Committe, the players had mixed feelings about it. The former Indian skipper stated that although they knew that punishment was coming, and deservedly, the players took it personally as most of them were not involved in the scandal.

“Given the sequence of events, we knew a harsh punishment was on the line. We did deserve the punishment but the only thing is the quantum of the punishment. Finally, we got to know that CSK will be banned for two years. There was a mixed feeling that time. Because you take a lot of things personally and, as a captain, question what did the team do wrong. Yes, there was mistake from our side [the franchise] but were the players involved in this? What mistake did we, as players, do to go through all of that?” Dhoni was seen saying in his new docudrama in Hotstar, namely “Roar of the Lion”, reported Scroll.

It was a very dark period for the skipper, who had just won India the ODI World Cup with a heroic knock two years back. And the scandal meant that he, being the captain of the CSK squad, was bound to see his name come up. Dhoni revealed the extreme times of struggle he had to go through in those years.

“My name also came up in talks of fixing. They started showcasing in the media or social media as if the team was involved, I was involved. Is it possible [in cricket]? Yes it is possible, anyone can do spot-fixing. Umpires can do that, batsmen can, bowlers can... but match-fixing needs the involvement of the majority of the players.

“The problem when people think you are very strong, is that more often than not, nobody comes and asks: how are you doing. It was more of how I dealt with it. I did not want to talk about it to others, at the same time it was scratching me. I don’t want anything to affect my cricket. For me cricket is the most important thing,” he said.

However, Dhoni returned with CSK after the two-year ban and won the title instantly giving the fans a reminder of what IPL was missing. After three titles and nine years with the club, Dhoni has described his relationship with the franchise like that of an arranged marriage.

“No one can quite explain it. My association with Chennai Super Kings is like a match made on matrimonial site – an arranged marriage. The amount of respect and love we’ve received from the fans, it’s like how they treat god,” he concluded the first episode named - What did the players do wrong.

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