IPL 2025: "Keep your mouth shut" - MS Dhoni makes honest confession on IPL's most controversial moment

Legendary CSK cricketer MS Dhoni has finally opened up on the controversy in which he charged onto the cricket field during an IPL match and argued with the on-field umpires. The incident is still seen as one of the few negative points in Dhoni's illustrious career.

While recalling the controversy after six years, MS Dhoni regrets it and calls it a "big mistake" in his career. He admitted that things got heated up during those moments and it is better to remain silent to avoid such controversies.

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MS Dhoni breaks silence on the controversy

During an event hosted by MasterCard, MS Dhoni was speaking to the host Mandira Bedi. During this event, Dhoni recalled the incident and claimed that the stakes were very high which prompted him walking onto the field to argue with the umpires.

“It happened in one of the IPL games, when I just walked on the field. That was a big mistake. But, other than that also, there have been instances where something gets triggered. We play a sport where the stakes are very high, you are supposed to win every game. You have to manage a lot of things,” Dhoni said.

Dhoni elaborated on the incident further and feels that he should have kept himself silent during that moment as he was angry. He feels that he should have handled the pressure in a better way and asked everyone not to be emotional while making decisions.

“That's why I said that when you're slightly angry or frustrated, keep your mouth shut. Get away from it for a while, try taking deeper breaths. It's quite similar to handling pressure. If you can cut yourself from the result aspect, it helps. Your emotions shouldn't affect your decision-making,” he added.

What was the incident?

During an IPL 2019 match between Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings at Jaipur, an incident happened during the dying stages of the game. CSK required 18 runs to win off the last over bowled by Ben Stokes.

The Super Kings lost Dhoni in the third ball of the last over which left Ravindra Jadeja and Mitchell Santner to finish off the game for their team. Stokes bowled a waist-high full toss in the fourth ball, which was ruled as a no-ball by the on-field umpire Ulhas Gandhe.

However, to everyone's confusion, the square-leg umpire hadn't given it a no-ball, and the decision was overturned. It led to huge confusion at such a tense stage of the match and the CSK camp was perplexed by the decision-making.

MS Dhoni barges into the field

As a result, a furious MS Dhoni walked into the field to argue with the umpire. Despite his protest, the decision of the on-field umpires stood and the ball was declared legal. Santner hit the last ball for a six straight down the ground to end the match in CSK's favor.

Dhoni was later fined 50 percent of his match fees for breaching IPL's Code of Conduct. He was lambasted by the experts and the former cricketers for such an act which also turned out to be one of the most controversial moments of his career.

Dhoni will be next seen in IPL 2025 where he will play for Chennai Super Kings but not as a captain. He left the captaincy juse before IPL 2024 and handed it over to Ruturaj Gaikwad.