The 16th season of the IPL will begin in April 2023, and all the eyes will be on CSK and skipper MS Dhoni, who could be participating in his final season.
The former Indian skipper is the only captain in the world to win three major ICC trophies. MS has also led CSK to four titles, the second most in the competition’s history.
Captain cool has been a guiding force for many youngsters and often gets credited for lifting budding cricketers. In a conversation with Aakash Chopra, CSK opener Ruturaj Gaikwad, who also excelled under MSD, opened up on fundamental values Dhoni has imparted within the team.
Gaikwad talked highly of Dhoni and praised his cricketing acumen. “Mahi bhai ensured that all the players gelled well. Whenever we lost a game, all the players would sit quietly for 10-15 minutes, but Mahi bhai remained the same irrespective of the result and asked us to do the same.”
“After a loss, he would say, ‘relax boys, it happens’. The most important learning from Mahi bhai is to stay neutral irrespective of the result. He taught me how to be neutral when things are not going my way. Under his captaincy, there is no negativity and blame game.”
Gaikwad has been CSK’s rising star in recent years and was the tournament’s leading run-scorer in 2021. The yellow army retained the 25-year-old for six crores in the 2022 mega-auction.
भारतीय टीम पर मंडराया बड़ा खतरा – VIDEO
