Murali Vijay Recalls Interesting MS Dhoni Anecdote From 2014 England Tour

MS Dhoni is an influential character. He observes his players carefully to bring out the best from them in difficult situations. It is one of his nature which sets him apart as a leader apart from being calm and composed. Out-of-favour India opener Murali Vijay has also been benefited from MS Dhoni’s tips on the field.

In an interactive session with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) fans on Instagram, Murali Vijay recalled an interesting MS Dhoni anecdote from 2014 England tour, which went on to help him grow as player and made him calm.

MS Dhoni made me calm: Murali Vijay

India had lost the top four early at the Trent Bridge Test in England, 2014. The onus was then on opener Murali Vijay and MS Dhoni to keep the sinking ship afloat. And Murali Vijay was largely influenced by MS Dhoni’s persona. Vijay also said that even when they were not interacting much it was MS Dhoni’s presence which made all the difference.

The duo went on to stitch a 126-run stand for the fifth wicket. It was a match Vijay remebers to have helped him raise his game.

“In England, the partnership between myself and MS (Dhoni) was phenomenal,” Vijay told CSK fans during the Instagram session hosted by the IPL giants. Vijay recalled that India were four wickets down but it was Dhoni with his cool, calm and collected approach helped him raise his game during testing times against England. 

“He made me calm. We were 4 wickets down and the way he handled himself and made me raise my game, we were feeding off each other. MS is always a calming factor in the middle. Like he comes up with his own persona. You can’t describe through words. We don’t even talk much in the middle, it’s just eye to eye contact,” he added.

Murali Vijay has scored 3982 Test runs at an average of 38.28. He had decent outing in the longest format for quite sometime before he lost touch. Vijay, 36, had recorded 12 centuries and 15 half-centuries in the format.