Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been one of the most accomplished leaders in cricket history. The former captain of India is the only player to lead his country to victory in a T20 World Cup, a 50 Year Old World Cup and the Champions Trophy. Besides that, Dhoni also managed to make India the number 1 team in the test rankings. Several players have referred to him as a master motivator and someone who understands the situation before anyone else.
Dhoni retired from international cricket in August and returned to the cricket field at IPL 2020. But his return was not very successful as the Chennai Super Kings failed to make the playoffs for the first time in their history. However, there was a positive aspect of the last three games CSK played.
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Ruturaj Gaikwad, 23, impressed everyone with his assured hitting in the last three games, as he had three consecutive IPLs in the 50s: 65 * vs. 51 (RCB), 72 vs. 53 (KKR) and 62 * vs. to 49 (KXIP). CSK to wins in all of these games.
Gaikwad recently revealed how a conversation with Dhoni inspired him after he was fired by a duck at his debut match.
“I knew the challenges ahead of me in the IM game and I had prepared myself to face players like Boult, [Jasprit] Bumrah and [James] Pattinson. But I think my firing set the tone and we were never able to recover, being eliminated by 110 odd numbers. [114 for 9]”Ruturaj Gaikwad told Sportstar.
“I blamed myself for getting off the new ball and not being able to start the team. It is reflected in the field. I never let a ball slide down my legs or drop a regulation catch, but it did happen on the field. It reflected on the field that my confidence was low. “
“Dhoni came up to me and asked if I was under pressure. He said: ‘We don’t want to pressure you, but we have expectations of you. All I want to tell you is that you are going to play the next three games without question whether you score a run or not. Try to enjoy these games and don’t think about performance. “
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“He told me not to worry about the ups and downs and to enjoy the performance. After that talk, my thought process changed. Until then, I was desperately thinking about things like when will I get my first cap in the IPL or when will I make my first impact, even with a 15-20 race cameo. “
But after that conversation, it was a drastic change. I remember that during that RCB game, I only thought about contributing to the cause of the team in that situation. I think the captain sensed my mood, changed my thought process and set me free, ”Gaikwad concluded.
CSK will now hope to overcome the problem in 2020 when they enter the field at IPL 2021.
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