When Shardul was being belted for fours, Dhoni declined to assist him; "Agar aaj bataunga na": Harbhajan's hidden narrative

IPL 2021: MS Dhoni and Shardul Thakur (L).(BCCI)

In a game where Shardul Thakur was being hit for four runs, MS Dhoni refrained from going to help him.

It's almost unbelievable to think that, despite everything that MS Dhoni has achieved as a batter, captain, and leader, he didn't support his bowlers more when they needed it. However, there was one instance in which he failed to assist his bowler. Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh related a story of Dhoni's tough love for Shardul Thakur during the Chennai Super Kings, where MSD remained silent to the fast bowler from India even after getting tonked by a batter.

In the IPL seasons of 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, Shardul spent four seasons with CSK and Harbhajan three. Thus, the occurrence to which he is alluding must have occurred between 2018 and 2020. Harbhajan claims that Dhoni has always thought it better to assist the bowler rather than take the lead role. To put it another way, Dhoni preferred that the bowlers learn from their mistakes on their own rather than having him give them instructions. Naturally, Dhoni spoke up when necessary, but not at the expense of his own education.