Why was MS Dhoni let off with lenient fine of 50 percent match fee?

The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) vs Rajasthan Royals (RR) encounter witnessed a never-seen-before incident as MS Dhoni lost his cool and stormed onto the ground to question the umpire after a no-ball call by the straight umpire was overruled. While Dhoni was fined 50 percent of his match fees for the incident, many are of the opinion that it was the wicket-keeper batsman’s reputation that helped him get away with a lenient fine.

As per a report by IANS, it was umpire Bruce Oxenford, the one to overrule the no-ball decision, who spoke to the match referee about the whole incident downplaying the CSK skipper’s act, as a result of which Dhoni was let off with only a fine.

“When all parties met in the match referee’s room after the game, Oxenford made it clear that he wasn’t offended by the CSK skipper’s act of walking onto the field and having a discussion on the no-ball being reversed,” the source said.

While there were a few who understood Dhoni’s actions as an isolated case of ‘heat of the moment’ but there were many former cricketers and experts who slammed the former Indian captain for doing something that was against the spirit of the game.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan was one of those former players who criticised Dhoni for his behaviour, suggesting he might be a legend in India but still isn’t supposed to storm onto the field in such a manner.

“The skipper coming from the dugout onto the pitch…cannot happen. I know he’s MS Dhoni, I know he can do what he wants in this country. But you’re not allowed to leave the dugout as a skipper and point your finger at the umpire out in the middle. Sorry, that is a no-no. You cannot be sending out that message, you can’t be setting that example as captain,” he told Cricbuzz.

As the debate over Dhoni’s actions continues, a rather serious matter of concern for the ongoing IPL season 12 is the level of umpiring that has been witnessed. Earlier, it was umpire S. Ravi’s failure to catch a no-ball in the last over of the Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians match that had created a major controversy.

Meanwhile, sitting comfortably at the top of the IPL standings, CSK next face second-placed Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Sunday.