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.
AUSA-W
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INDA-W
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ROR
191/6
TBW
140/10
Royals of Rayalaseema beat Tungabhadra Warriors by 51 runs
VSS
204/7
BVB
–
Match Abandoned
SIN-W
–
CAM-W
–
SIN-W
–
CAM-W
–
SKA
–
ABF
–
RJM
108/7
SOS
59/10
Rijeka Markhors beat Sir Oliver Split by 49 runs
ZGA
130/2
RJM
130/6
Rijeka Markhors tied with Zagreb Assassins (Zagreb Assassins wins the Golden Ball)
SOS
86/1
ZGA
83/10
Sir Oliver Split won by 9 wickets
ZGW
73/8
SOS
74/2
Sir Oliver Split beat Zagreb Warriors by 8 wickets
ZGA
97/8
RJM
144/6
Rijeka Markhors beat Zagreb Assassins by 47 runs
SOS
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ZGW
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ZAS
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ZGA
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SOS
–
RJM
–
ZGA
–
ZAS
–
ZGA
–
SOS
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DURH
387/4
MID
390/5
Middlesex beat Durham by 5 wickets
LEI
333/8
NOT
209/10
Leicestershire beat Nottinghamshire by 124 runs
BB
283/9
KENT
204/10
Birmingham Bears beat Kent by 79 runs
WOR
196/5
HAM
194/9
Worcestershire beat Hampshire by 5 wickets
SURR
146/5
GLAM
308/7
Surrey beat Glamorgan by 5 wickets (D/L) method
YOR
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SOM
–
BCC
–
GUG
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MATCH ABANDONED
LLG
261/10
MUR
287/10
Munster Reds beat Leinster Lightning by 26 runs
NK
281/7
NWW
278/5
Northern Knights (Ireland) won by 3 wickets
JJ
90/7
SBSCC
120/3
SBS CC Won by 30 runs
NCMI
106/2
BCC
89/6
NCM Investment Won by 17 runs
CEC-A
–
KGC
–
KRMPS
–
BCC
–
BNB
225/6
HBT
228/8
Hubli Tigers beat Bengaluru Blasters by 2 wickets
MGD
179/8
SML
150/8
Mangalore Dragons won by 29 runs
MYW
–
MGD
–
GBM
–
BNB
–
SLBL
178/6
SLGY
179/4
SLC Greys beat SLC Blues by 6 wickets
SLGR
–
SLGY
–
SOB
139/5
NOS
141/7
Northern Superchargers beat Southern Brave by 3 wickets
WEF
137/8
MAO
112/10
Welsh Fire won by 25 runs
LOS
–
TRR
–
SBW-W
103/2
NOS-W
102/10
Southern Brave Women beat Northern Superchargers Women by 8 wickets
WFW-W
73/9
MOW-W
76/3
Manchester Originals Women beat Welsh Fire Women by 7 wickets
LSW-W
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TRW-W
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PS
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BANA
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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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