M.S. Dhoni (left) and Chris Gayle share a light moment during a promotional event in New Delhi on Monday.
New Delhi: South Africa may have thrashed India in the one-day international series, but Captain Cool Mahendra Singh Dhoni was his wittiest best on a balmy Monday in the capital. He stressed the need to keep the spirit of the gentleman’s game alive and said the Indian Premier League had helped players from across the globe connect and taken “ugly sledging” away from cricket.
“Sports truly brings us together. Be it invoking the feeling of brotherhood within a team or bonding with people with a shared passion for the sport. We play a gentleman’s game. We want to win, but have to do it in the right way. The IPL has taken the ugly sie of sledging away from cricket. Friendly banter is good and that’s what this Twenty20 league has done,” Dhoni, who shared the stage with West Indies batsman Chris Gayle, said at a McDowell’s event here.
“IPL has helped us a lot to deal with it (sledging). It has helped players from different cultures come together and share dressing rooms. It got me closer to many individuals, whom I might not have interacted with otherwise. “My equation with many players has improved just because of the IPL,” the wicketkeeper-batsman added.
Gayle and Dhoni, who share a great rapport, kept the audience entertained with their banter. The Caribbean big hitter not only mimicked Dhoni’s patent ‘helicopter shot’ but also agreed with the skipper on IPL easing tension between players.
“I agree with MS about IPL... it has done wonders for the entire cricket fraternity. Yes, there is friendly sledging, like I enjoy with (Kieron) Pollard — Mumbai Indians player — but otherwise it’s cool.” Gayle talked about his friendship with star Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt, joking that someday he would outrun the 100 metre sprint king on the track. Dhoni chipped in, joking that Bolt become a world champion sprinter after running and catching sixes hit by Gayle on the cricket field.
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