Mumbai: He maybe away from the commentary box in this season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) but veteran commentator turned cricket analyst Harsha Bhogle hasn’t shied away from taking a dig at Rising Pune Supergiants’ skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s slow innings which he played against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Friday.
Coming in to bat after Steve Smith's departure, Dhoni scored 41 off 38 balls, an innings that was laced with three boundaries but he was unable to take his team over the line as they fell short by 13 runs in the end. Pune witnessed a calm and composed Dhoni on the night as MS took tome to fire and when he did decide to accelerate, he managed to present AB de Villiers a simple catch at the fence off Harshal Patel's bowling.
Now, reacting to this knock, Bhogle tweeted, "180+ run chase. 41 (38) can't win it for you. Some days it might come off but most days it won't from there."
180+ run chase. 41 (38) can't win it for you. Some days it might come off but most days it won't from there
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 22, 2016
Typical Dhoni. Keeps you on the edge of your seat thinking it's going to be this over that he has a go!
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 22, 2016
Bhogle was in the news recently after he was omitted from the commentary panel for season 9 of India’s cash-rich league. Many reports are doing the rounds on what could have been the reason for Bhogle’s absence.
Read: Harsha Bhogle reacts after Amitabh, Dhoni question commentary
During the World T20, there was a debate on Twitter when actor Amitabh Bachchan criticised Indian commentators for not talking highly about the Indian team.
“With all due respect, it would be really worthy of an Indian commentator to speak more about our players than others all the time,” he had tweeted.
A lot of people thought the tweet was directed towards Bhogle. Add to that Dhoni also quoted senior Bachchan’s tweet adding, "Nothing to add."
It was also reported that displeasure amongst the Indian players regarding Bhogle's commentary during World T20, might have resulted in his ouster from IPL. But Bhogle himself remained clueless. "I still don't know why I am not doing the IPL. I haven't been told. I can accept the fact that people don't like me. But I genuinely hope it isn't because cricketers have complained about what I have to say," Bhogle had earlier posted on Facebook.
I tell every young cricketer who cares to listen that we will never agree on everything but I will always desire that they do well; that I cannot stop them from scoring a run, or taking a wicket or holding a catch,” Bhogle added.
Also Read: After IPL exit, Harsha Bhogle gets warned for his remark on MS Dhoni
Doing that is their job, telling the story of what they did, or didn't, is mine. Our paths will be strewn with admiration and disagreement. It is the nature of the job whether you are a university level cricketer or among the best there has been. And, for heaven's sake, my greatest criticism is that I don't do enough of it."
He may be out the IPL this time, but Bhogle is voicing out his opinions posting numerous tweets about the matches on daily basis. It will be interesting to see if Bhogle’s criticism does prompt Dhoni to reply.
