MS Dhoni: Priceless Moments
Learn English with MS Dhoni’s speech. Join us as we sit down with Indian cricket icon MS Dhoni, who shares his thoughts on being called a legend, memorable cricketing moments, and priceless experiences as a father. Dhoni’s candid conversation offers a glimpse into the life of this inspiring sportsman. MS Dhoni, widely regarded as one of the greatest cricket captains, led Team India to numerous victories, including the 2007 T20 and 2011 ICC Cricket World Cups.
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MS Dhoni | Quote
“It’s important to learn and not repeat the same mistakes. What’s done is done.” MS Dhoni
MS Dhoni | FULL TRANSCRIPT:
Mandira Bedi: Here’s the thing, I’m sure you’ve noticed this that every time you come for an event, there’s a standing ovation like this. It’s… you are referred to very often as a legend. How does that feel? That’s a priceless feeling in itself, isn’t it?
MS Dhoni: It feels very old to start off because to be called a legend… First of all, I don’t believe I’m a legend. But to be called a legend, which means you have spent a lot of time on the field. On the field, depending on whichever stream you come from, whether you are from Bollywood, whether you are from cricket or any other sport or business, banking, any sector.
Mandira Bedi: There’s a survey where the results revealed that you are the second most admired man in India. That is a big deal. Second to whom? Second to our Prime Minister.
MS Dhoni: Well, I think I can stand in the election now. I think if I ever want to get into politics, I’ll have to really study a lot, you know, do a lot of changes and then maybe I’ll be able to adapt. But you know, it’s a big thing to be admired by so many people. And, you know, thanks to cricket, if I was not playing cricket, I don’t think there’d be so many people who’d be admiring me. And a lot of times people say, oh, you are very lucky. You know, I love when people say that. And I just tell them, you know, it’s not like I am lucky, just that the number of people I meet and the connect that I have with the people, they are the ones who pray for me. You know, and that’s why I’m so lucky. It’s not like, you know, I was born lucky. But over the years it has happened that, you know, whenever there’s a 50-50 scenario, more often than not, you know, it turns in the favor of us, you know, whether it’s me as an individual or as a team. So, you know, being lucky is important. But at the same time, I think… the admiration and it’s something, you know, you feel a lot more satisfied looking at, you know, the kind of ovation you get wherever you go and the kind of love and affection that people show towards you.
Mandira Bedi: We’ll talk about luck in just a minute, but I’m going to make a prediction here. It is going to happen. I see it. MS Dhoni, Prime Minister of the country, couple of years from now, that is a possibility. I really believe. I really believe. And then when this happens, you said Mandira Bedi predicted it, okay, sitting on stage talking to Dhoni.
MS Dhoni: But I think that’s more pressure than, you know, trying to win a World Cup.
Mandira Bedi: You don’t take pressure.
MS Dhoni: Imagine, especially with the banking sector and everyone, oh, the GDP is going down, you know, the financial deficit is happening, export, import, all that thing. We are a big country. The number of people that in itself is a big challenge. You know, we talk about, you know, local trains or buses or roads, but we are just too big and it will take time, you know, for us to become what some of the other countries are. But I always felt till your intention is right and you’re moving forward thinking that this is what is good for the country or the state, you know, that is the right decision.
Mandira Bedi: We’ve seen a World Cup win. We’ve seen a T20 World Cup win. We’ve seen India at number one, ranked at number one for 18 months in the test format. So you’ve given our country many, many, many priceless moments. A big round of applause for that, ladies and gentlemen. But what would you say is your priceless moment as far as your, the cricketing career is concerned, A as captain and B as player?
MS Dhoni: Well, the answer would be very different. You know, a lot of people would be expecting, okay, this is something that he would pick, that is something that he would pick. But the two special moments, first I would say it was just after the 2007 T20 World Cup. We landed in Mumbai. So for a lot of us, we were part of the team that went to England. And from England we got selected and we went to South Africa for the T20 World Cup. So we won, we were coming back and that day it was very cloudy and, you know, it was raining. So we started our descent, we were about to land and I look outside, I’m like, you know what, it’s raining, there would be nobody to receive us, we shall book all our flights and we’ll go back to our respective cities. Because we have been out for so long. So we land and even before immigration, there were like loads of people to receive us. And I still remember, we were in a double-decker bus, it was an open-top bus.
Mandira Bedi: No one can’t forget that experience, raining, cloudy.
MS Dhoni: Yes, and it took us literally five hours from the airport to the Wankhede Stadium. We all got wet, we were in the bus, we dried up somehow. We again got wet because in between again it was raining. So it happened like twice or thrice and then the most memorable moment came. So what is called a Queen’s necklace, we are right in the center. There are people all around, there are cars parked all around, there are people on the street, you look ahead, there are thousands of people, you look behind, there’s thousands of people. And everybody had a smile on their face. None of them were sitting in the car, all of them were outside, they were having their cameras, they had that smile, they were clicking pictures. I don’t know how many of them actually missed their flights or were very late for work. It was not late, it would have been very late for work but that’s what it meant to them. We were thinking, okay, we’ll go back home and then the kind of response we got. And also we don’t really have anything to compare it to. Because 2011 we won but there was no celebration like that.
Mandira Bedi: Like this.
MS Dhoni: Because we never went out, nothing really happened. Even the time when we won, we were in the stadium till 1, 1:30. And we actually, like I personally actually didn’t see the people celebrate on the street. Whatever we saw was on television. So, you know, that was a very memorable moment. The second would be, it was during the 2011 World Cup, it was during the finals, we were playing at Wankhede. And it was like 10 or 15 runs were needed. And me and Yuvraj, we were batting. And all of a sudden, the crowd, they start singing the song Vande Mataram.
Mandira Bedi: Oh my God, that gives me goose flesh.
MS Dhoni: And you’re right in the middle and imagine 35, 40,000 people, you know, saying Vande Mataram. So it used to start from, let’s say if it started from North Stand, your ears actually move because it goes around. So that would be my second most memorable moment or one or two, you know, I can’t really stack it saying this was the preferred moment. But it was something that was very, very special. And I don’t know if I would ever be able to witness something like that because you may have 40,000 people singing the national anthem or singing the national song. But that atmosphere, the moment, the hard work that was put for that 45, 50 days, you’re during the World Cup, whether it will come or not, you know. So I feel these are the two priceless moments when it comes to my cricketing career. And there have been lots of other moments, but these two, I think, were very, very priceless, you know, to me.
Mandira Bedi: What advice would you give a youngster today who’s getting into… into cricket or sport, any kind of competitive sport maybe?
MS Dhoni: The youngsters today, the only piece of advice I would give them, which was very relevant when I made my debut or people in the 80s played, cricket is the core. You take care of cricket. Everything else will take care of itself.
Mandira Bedi: So this is you. Your social media, I follow you on Instagram, has got a lot, lots of videos and lots of images of your beautiful little daughter. Tell us or share with us one of the most priceless moments that you’ve had with her.
MS Dhoni: I think the most priceless moment was after the World Cup, when we came back, Sakshi and Ziva, they were still in Delhi at that point of time, Gurugram. And the first time I saw her, I picked her up and she must be two months or one and a half months. And she made a lot of noise. That was the first time she was seeing me. I don’t know whether she saw me or not, because they say as a kid who’s one month, two months, they don’t, they can’t really see long.
Mandira Bedi: The vision isn’t developed.
MS Dhoni: But for the full five minutes she was making noise, she was giggling and she was like, she’s never done it. I don’t know why she’s doing it. She even had problem with that. Why is she doing it? Why she never does it with me?
Mandira Bedi: Now she’s come, why is she responding to you like this?
MS Dhoni: So I think that was a priceless moment because whatever said and done, that first time when you see your newborn, you know, something happens, which is very difficult to describe in word. And from that till now, she’s four and a half. And every time she comes in and she has a new question or answer. And the latest is, you know, when you ask, okay, why do you love Papa? Ah, Papa is money. I don’t know who taught her, but she’s straightforward. Why do you love Papa? Oh, because Papa is money.
Mandira Bedi: That priceless moment that gave you your first gray hair? Do you remember it?
MS Dhoni: I think it started very early in our career, you know, because every game that you play when it comes to cricket, it may be your last game. You know, so like my fifth game was almost my last game. People say different things about it, but I had not scored in the first four games. The fifth game, after the game, there was a selection meeting that was held. So there’s 99% chances coming from Bihar, Jharkhand, which was not very well known for cricket. If I had not scored in that game, I think 90% I would have been kicked out of the team, which people say no, no.
Mandira Bedi: That’s where your first gray hair came.
MS Dhoni: I think so.
Mandira Bedi: Probably.
MS Dhoni: Yeah. I think it’s a good thing to have or get gray hair because it shows that you think about certain things in life. You do get stressed about things in life. But the amount of gray hair and beard that I’ve got, I think if I don’t color my hair, I’ll be like Amitabh Bachchan. That’s how gray I am, you know. So…
Mandira Bedi: Really?
MS Dhoni: Yes, at 39….
Mandira Bedi: See, that’s one secret that he’s just shared with us.
MS Dhoni: This I’ve shared with a lot of people.
Mandira Bedi: You have? Big round of applause. MS Dhoni. Always straight from the heart.
MS Dhoni
