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During IPL 2016, MS Dhoni, then the captain of the disbanded IPL franchise, Rising Pune Supergiants (RPSG), said that his fellow teammate Kevin Pietersen's injury was a blessing in disguise. The Rising Pune Supergiants were one of the teams along with Gujarat Lions to replace the Chennai Super Kings and the Rajasthan Royals, with the teams being banned for betting activities.
The incident occurred during RPSG's match against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Batting first, RCB posted a total of 185/3 thanks to half-centuries from Virat Kohli (80 off 63) and AB de Villiers (83 of 46). RPSG fell 13 runs short of the total, finishing on 172/8 in the 20 overs with Ajinkya Rahane (60 off 46) being the only player to score a half-century in the chase. MS Dhoni (41 off 38) was the next major contributor in the batting line up.
Kevin Pietersen, batting at number three in that game, played only a single ball and was carried off the ground owing to a calf injury. When asked about the Englishman's injury, MS Dhoni said (via ESPNCricinfo):
"KP's injury can be a blessing in disguise. We're playing with six bowlers, yet our death bowling isn't great. Maybe we can look to bring in Albie Morkel or Mitch Marsh in the next game. With the kind of players we've got, it has always been difficult to drop someone. We need to strengthen our bowling line a bit."
The Rising Pune Supergiants had a disappointing IPL debut, with the Pune-based franchise finishing seventh in the points table with five wins in 14 matches. Following a poor campaign, MS Dhoni was replaced by Steve Smith as the skipper of the side who led them to an IPL final in 2017.
MS Dhoni and Kevin Pietersen have had healthy banters in the past
MS Dhoni and Kevin Pietersen have shared some healthy on-field banter between themselves, with their reference being mostly around the Lord's Test played in 2011 between India and England. Dhoni rolled his arm over, with ace pacer Zaheer Khan getting injured. The then Team India skipper had Kevin Pietersen caught behind, but the decision was overturned after a review was taken.
When Pietersen was a part of the commentary panel in 2017, he spoke to former Bengal skipper Manoj Tiwary, who was wired up, and asked him to tell MS Dhoni that he was a better golfer. Dhoni responded by saying:
"He's still my first Test wicket"
In 2023, posting a video of the same, Pietersen tweeted the following response:
"The evidence is CLEAR! I was NOT Dhoni’s first Test wicket. Nice ball though, MS! Thanks for sending this through, SkyCricket."
MS Dhoni is expected to be a part of the upcoming IPL season, while Kevin Pietersen lends his voice to speaking about the game and playing in the various legends leagues around the globe.
