‘Bhaiyya, kyu?’: Venkatesh Iyer recalls how MS Dhoni’s clever field placement outsmarted him

All-rounder Venkatesh Iyer recalled an incident when Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni’s clever field placement outfoxed him in the IPL.
“I was batting and I played a shot and got out at short third man. I turned around and saw ‘He is standing wrong. That’s not where a fielder stands. He is standing at a wrong position; he should be more to the right. Then I realised ‘Oh’,” Venkatesh, who plays for Kolkata Knight Riders said on Raj Shamani’s podcast.
“I asked him after the match, ‘Bhaiyya, kyu?’ (Why?) He said the way the ball was leaving my bat; the fielders should be a lot finer. “I was like ‘WOW! I never even thought like that. To think so quickly then and there, and to understand the angle – cricket is all about angles – to read it is I think his biggest strength,” he added.
Recalling another incident when MS Dhoni pulled off a similar stint the 28-year-old said, “I and one more guy was batting. There were two fielders on the off-side – a short third man and covers. Everything was fine before he just called a fielder and placed it the other side.
The very next ball went the exact same way and he was out caught. He could have had some bad luck too but I was wondering ‘Why did it have to be off the very next ball? It could have happened 3-4 deliveries later, right?’ Suddenly it felt ‘Oh man! What a mind this guy has,” he added.

Iyer also was awestruck the following of Dhoni and how he does not show parity between youngsters and established legends.
“It has only happened with MS, like when I went to bat and realised that he is standing right behind me. Before the match, we are busy in our warm-ups when suddenly you hear the public scream out of nowhere. When you turn around, you see MS is walking from the dugout. He is so chill and doesn’t create a parity between youngsters and established legends like themselves.”