"We were shouting from the dugout, asking him to stop" - Mohit Sharma on MS Dhoni storming onto the field during IPL 2019

Pacer Mohit Sharma has revisited the controversial incident when former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni stormed onto the field during IPL 2019, unhappy with an umpire's decision. The bowler recalled that people in the dugout were asking him to stop, but a furious Dhoni did not even turn around.

The incident took place during an IPL 2019 match between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. Dhoni ran onto the field and had an ugly exchange with the on-field umpires after a high full-toss was not given as a no-ball.

During his appearance on the '2 Sloggers' podcast, Mohit, who represented CSK from 2013 to 2015 and again in 2019, shared some insight into the controversy. He recalled (55:58):

"We were shouting from the dugout, asking him to stop. However, he didn't even turn around. The way he entered, it looked like a lion had come in. He was already angry as he had just gotten out."

"It was a situation where he shouldn't have got out. There was suddenly that scene. He asked us, 'Isne no ball di thi na?'. We were confused if we should say it or not. We told him that yes, the umpire had raised his hand. He didn't stop after that." Mohit added.

The right-arm pacer also remembered that once Dhoni returned to the dugout, he asked the bowler to bring the laptop and show him the video.

"I told our video analyst about it. He saw the video and then said, 'No ball to hai yaar ye'. He was just saying that it didn't matter if they won or not, but it isn't right to change a decision because of someone's pressure," the 36-year-old said, while concluding the story.

CSK won the last-ball thriller by four wickets, but Dhoni was fined 50 percent of his match fees for charging onto the field and staging a protest.

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Why was MS Dhoni angry during the 2019 IPL match between CSK and RR?

In the last over of the match between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur in 2019, Ben Stokes bowled a slower ball, which turned into a high full-toss. Umpire Ulhas Gandhe put his arm up to signal a no-ball, but square leg umpire Bruce Oxenford overruled the decision and declared that the delivery was fair.

Even as Ravindra Jadeja, who was at the non-striker's end, questioned Gandhe about the decision, Dhoni ran onto the field and started arguing with the on-field umpires. While the decision wasn't reversed, CSK won the match courtesy of a last-ball six from Mitchell Santner.