He was a part of CSK's IPL 2018 winning squad and represented the franchise in four editions of the league.
Former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) spinner Karn Sharma has revealed an unheard incident involving captain MS Dhoni in the latest episode of The CX Pod – EXCLUSIVES by CricXtasy. He recalled a fixture against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020, where the captain cool scolded the bowler for not properly executing the deliveries against Shahbaz Nadeem.
“During a match against Hyderabad, 2020 I think, Shahbaz Nadeem came in to bat and I got hit for two fours through the covers. Dhoni told me clearly — If I say bowl it there, then bowl it there. Don’t experiment,” stated the current Mumbai Indians (MI) spinner Karn Sharma in an exclusive with CricXtasy.
MAL
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HKG
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SAM
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WI
189/8
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190/7
Australia beat West Indies by 3 wickets
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74/3
Djurgardens IF Women beat Alby Zalmi Women by 7 wickets
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58/5
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138/2
Alby Zalmi Women won by 80 runs
DIF-W
46/0
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45/7
Djurgardens IF Women Won by 10 wickets
ALZ-W
78/2
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75/6
Alby Zalmi Women beat Djurgardens IF Women by 8 wickets
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49/1
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161/0
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Bud Cricket Club beat City Cricket Club by 33 runs
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Nabajyoti Club beat Gauhati Town Club by 5 wickets
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71/9
Rwanda Women beat Malawi Women by 67 runs
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Botswana Women beat Mozambique Women by 8 wickets
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Sierra Leone Women beat Eswatini Women by 149 runs
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Cameroon Women beat Lesotho Women by 55 runs
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Uganda beat Kenya by 28 runs
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Amo Sharks beat Band-e-Amir Dragons by 3 wickets
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Mis Ainak Knights beat Boost Defenders by 18 runs
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He also mentioned that former CSK pacer Deepak Chahar, who also played for their arch-rivals MI in the IPL 2025, often used to get lambasted by the skipper after the matches. Karn also got to experience this rare side of Dhoni, who is usually known for his calm and composed nature on and off the field.
“He told me to pitch it on his legs, and I didn’t listen. After the match, he gave me a proper earful. And Deepak bhai also got scolded many times — yeah, Deepak is his favourite. I got scolded full-on Deepak style,” he added.
The 37-year-old also shared his experience of playing under one of the most successful captains of the game. Notably, CSK has qualified for the playoffs 12 times out of 18 IPL seasons so far and won the league five times under his leadership. Dhoni is also the only Indian captain to lead his team to glory in three different ICC championships — the T20 World Cup in 2007, the ODI World Cup in 2011 and the Champions Trophy in 2013.
“His approach is always ‘you do your job.’ If something additional is needed, he’ll handle it,” said Karn.
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He also spoke about how the CSK veteran helped him dismiss Joe Root in his maiden T20I fixture against England. The spinner acknowledged his brilliant brainwork behind the stumps, which proved to be crucial in several instances for his team.
“I remember my first international game was against England — a T20. Joe Root was batting. Dhoni told me to bowl a googly first ball. He must have read something. Root tried a reverse sweep, but didn’t go through with it. He reads things deeply. He has that much experience. The number of teams he has led, the years of captaincy — he’s just something else,” stressed the bowler.
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The former CSK player also opened up about their dismal season in the IPL 2020. The league was shifted to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) due to the deadly pandemic worldwide and all the matches took place behind closed doors in that edition.
However, the Men in Yellow could not continue with their blazing form from the previous season, after a runners-up finish in the IPL 2019. They managed to win only six out of their 14 league-stage matches and finished the league in seventh place. The spinner, who was part of the team then, revealed that the dressing room atmosphere was always positive, irrespective of the outcome.
“No one really plans during the season. While the season is going on, all discussions are about what needs to be done right now — not about next season. That’s a totally different matter for the management, captain, and coach. And I’ll tell you — even when we were losing, the environment was calm. No panic at all. And even when we won, it stayed calm,” he explained.
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