MS Dhoni calms down the Jharkhand players after fire broke out in their team hotel

The Jharkhand players were in for a huge shock when a fire broke out at their team hotel at Dwarka where they were staying for their semi-final clash against Bengal at the Feroz Shah Kotla Ground. The match which was originally scheduled for today has been postponed to Saturday after a major fire broke out in the hotel premises early in the morning. It was definitely a scary moment for the team who is being currently captained by former Indian skipper MS Dhoni.

At around 6:20 in the morning, cricketers saw smoke engulfing their rooms. At first, they thought it was some electrical issues but within a matter of minutes, they started receiving texts from the coach and team manager that a major fire had broken out. “We were just about to wake up when this happened. After huge smoke engulfed the room, we could hardly breathe. There was no electricity and the lobby was completely dark. That was really scary,” Ishan Kishan who is an integral member of the Jharkhand squad was quoted as saying by Sportstar.

Kishan who has risen to fame with his consistent performance for the junior team and in the domestic circuit hasn’t been able to come to terms with the incident.  “We had an important match in the morning, so the players were a bit under pressure. But this sudden incident was so scary. For a moment, we thought that it would be impossible to get out of the room,” he said.

MS Dhoni also texted his teammates asking them not to worry. “Even Mahi bhai was unable to come out of his room. We really did not know what to do. I have never seen such a thing before,” Ishan recalled. Within 10-15 minutes the hotel authorities made some special arrangement and evacuated the players out of their respective rooms. “Even as we came out of the rooms, we could not see anything. Everything was dark. We had to leave all our gears behind,” Ishan added.

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The players visited the Air Force Ground in Palam to restore their focus for the semi-final which has been postponed to Saturday. “There were security issues, so we decided to hit the ground, regroup and then return back to the hotel. I have travelled to quite a few places, but have never faced such a situation before,” said the youngster.

However, despite the mishap, the cricketing gears and other equipment of the players are safe. “Our kits bag and all the gears are in perfect condition. Now, it is important that we overcome the shock and focus on the semifinal, which has been postponed to Saturday,” Ishan added.

As the players are scared by the incident, the Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) got in touch with the team management to ensure that the players were unperturbed by the occurrence. “We are in constant touch with the players and the situation is under control now. We are monitoring the situation,” a senior official was quoted as saying by Sportstar.