Dhoni told Kohli 'side ho ja, tu janta nahi isko': Pakistan pacer on heated exchange in India vs Pakistan 2015 WC match
There was an incident during an India-Pakistan match in the 2015 ODI World Cup at the Adelaide Oval in Australia when Dhoni had to step in. It was between then-India vice-captain Virat Kohli and Pakistan pacer Sohail Khan. In the latter's words, it was Kohli, who started the war of words.
An India vs Pakistan cricket match is always of high intensity. In the last four or five years the on-field heated moments have been limited but in the past, players from both sides did not need a second invitation to let their tempers flow. Legendary India captain MS Dhoni has witnessed many of those moments. In fact, he was the pacifier on a couple of occasions, most famously when Gautam Gambhir and Kamran Akmal had a go at each other during the drinks break in the 2010 Asia Cup. It was Dhoni, who took the left-handed Indian opener away from the scuffle.
There was another incident during an India-Pakistan match in the 2015 ODI World Cup at the Adelaide Oval in Australia when Dhoni had to step in. It was between then-India vice-captain Virat Kohli and Pakistan pacer Sohail Khan. In the latter's words, it was Kohli, who started the war of words.
Sohail said it happened when he came out to bat during Pakistan's 301-run chase. India were on top and only two wickets away from snatching yet another victory over their arch-rivals when Sohail made his way into the centre. The right-arm pacer said Kohli, who had scored a magnificent 107 off 126 balls, walked up to him and "Aap cricket mein abhi aaye hain. And itni baatein karte ho (You've just arrived and you speak so much)"
Interestingly, Sohail was the one who dismissed Kohli that day after his hundred and triggered a late collapse in the Indian batting line-up that stopped them from going past 220, which at one point looked inevitable.
"I was a Test cricketer back then. I had played Test matches in 2006-07. Then in between, I endured a troubled knee which forced me out of action. I said 'Beta jab tu Under-19 khel raha tha na, tera baap Test cricketer tha' (Son, when you were playing Under-19 for India, your father [referring to himself] was a Test player). That's how I said it," Sohail said on the Nadir Ali Podcast.
The lanky pacer, who had taken a five-wicket haul in that match, said the captains of teams, Dhoni and Misbah-ul-Haq then stepped in to douse the fire.
Then if you see carefully, Misbah intervened and he got angry at me. He asked me to keep quiet. Then MS Dhoni also came and told Kohli 'Side pe ho ja, ye purana chawal hai, tu nahi jaanta isko. (Back down. He has been around for a long time. You don't know him). Kohli then went and stood in one corner," he added.
India went on to win that Pool B match by 76 runs. They were beaten by eventual champions and hosts Australia in the semi-final. Pakistan, on the other hand, had failed to qualify for the semi-finals.
