Kirsten reveals how Dhoni cancelled a team trip as coach wasn’t allowed entry
Speaking about Dhoni in a recent interview Kirsten pointed out that Dhoni’s loyalty made him one of the most impressive people the South African had ever met.
Former India captain MS Dhoni and then Team India coach Gary Kirsten’a partnership produced some great results for the team. From becoming the top Test playing nation in the ICC rankings for the first time to winning the ICC World Cup in 2011, Kirsten and Dhoni’s understanding helped the team.
Speaking about Dhoni in a recent interview Kirsten pointed out that Dhoni’s loyalty made him one of the most impressive people the South African had ever met.
“One of the most impressive people I have met, he is a great leader of people, he’s got incredible presence as a leader, but the most important thing is that he is loyal,” Kirsten said about Dhoni on The RK Show on YouTube.
Talking more about Dhoni, Kirsten recalled an incident when Dhoni decided not to attend an event after the three South Africans in the coaching staff, which included Kirsten, were not allowed for the same.
“I’ll never forget, just before the World Cup, we were invited in Bangalore to go to the flight school, to go and kind of have a look at that. Obviously, we had a couple of foreigners in our support staff, and we got word back on the morning before the whole team was meant to go – and everyone was looking forward to the event – that the three South Africans, which were myself, Paddy Upton and Eric Simmons, weren’t going to be allowed into the flight school because it was seen as a potential security risk.
“So MS cancelled the whole event. He just said, ‘These are my people. If they’re not allowed in, none of us are going’. And that was what he was about,” Kirsten said.
Kisten went on to add that he and Dhoni spent a lot of time with each other discussing matters irrespective of whether the team won or lost and they managed to create a good working relationship with one another
“He was very loyal, to me, and I think he saw as well, there were times when we didn’t always win games and we’d have some tough times. We’d spend a lot of time, just one on one together, talking through, taking the team forward. I think we built a strong relationship in the three years we had together,” Kirsten added.