How did MS Dhoni ensure no Team India player was late for team meetings?

Mahendra Singh Dhoni will forever be remembered as the man who helped India claim the 2011 Cricket World Cup. Not only did he apply the finishing touch to India’s triumph with a glorious six at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, he was also the captain of the Indian team. While the things Dhoni did on the pitch were conspicuous, Paddy Upton, who was working with the Indian cricket team as a mental conditioning coach under Gary Kirsten, had spoken about how Dhoni had put in rules to ensure that discipline in the side was maintained.

Speaking during a Kolkata event in 2019 while launching his book, The Barefoot Coach, Paddy Upton had revealed how India captains Anil Kumble and Dhoni ensured that no India player was ever late for a team meeting. “When I joined the team, Anil Kumble was the captain of the Test team and MS Dhoni was the captain of the ODI team. We had a very self-governing process. So we said to the team ‘is it important to be on time for the practice and team meetings?’ Everyone said yes it is.

“So we asked them if anyone is not on time is there anything one should give up? We discussed it amongst ourselves and the players, and eventually, it was left to the captains to decide,” Upton said.

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READ MORE | Paddy Upton writes: ‘When Dhoni walked down the stairs, I turned to Gary and said ‘Do you realise he is going there to fetch us the World Cup?’

That was when Kumble declared that any players arriving late would be fined Rs 10,000. But Dhoni went several steps ahead. He ruled that if any player was late, all members of the team would be fined Rs 10,000 each.

“Nobody was ever late from the one day team again,” Upton had said.