Time Wastage In Qualifier 1: Will ‘Captain Cool’ Dhoni Be Banned For IPL Final?

Chennai: MS Dhoni is an IPL legend. Even at the age of 41, he continues to lead Chennai Super Kings (CSK) with great success.

Not just in Chennai, Dhoni draws fans by the thousands at every stadium he plays, handing CSK the advantage of crowd support even when they are playing away from home.

On Tuesday night, however, the ‘Captain Cool’ became the subject of a controversy during the Qualifier 1 clash between CSK and defending champions Gujarat Titans at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium.

Defending a total of 172/7, CSK looked to be in control as they reduced GT the Hardik Pandya-led team to 102/6 after 15 overs.

Dhoni handed the ball to Matheesha Pathirana to deliver the 16th over, but the on-field umpires didn’t allow the young Sri Lankan pacer to bowl as he hadn’t spent the same amount of time on field after having taken a break.

Dhoni and his teammates argued with the umpires, and there was a stoppage in play for about nine minutes.

It was as if Dhoni was deliberately wasting time so that Pathirana becomes eligible to bowl.

The CSK captain was very keen that Pathirana bowled that over, and hence didn’t mind the delay even if that meant he and his side could be fined for slow over-rate.

The tournament organisers haven’t yet taken a call, but Dhoni could face a ban in Sunday’s final, if not a hefty fine.

The commentators were critical of Captain Cool’s act.

“That 5-minute argument with the umpires was unnecessary. All he did was stall and stall the game instead of letting another bowler bowl. He might come to regret that at the end of the match,” Simon Doull said on air.