Rachin Ravindra has been a brilliant addition to the Chennai Super Kings team in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. The New Zealand all-rounder was bought by the defending champions for Rs 1.8 crore ahead of the new season with Devon Conway as missing. out in the first part of the tournament due to injury, Ravindra was given the responsibility of opening the batting. The left-hander played two brilliant knocks in their first two matches and the only blemish in his otherwise perfect run was a missed catch against Gujarat Titans. At a recent event, he was asked about his missed opportunity and whether he looked at MS Dhoni to check his reaction just after dropping the catch.
“When you missed the catch, did you look at MS? How did he react, what did he tell you?” the anchor asked the New Zealand all-rounder.
“I don’t react much to the missed catches, especially when the guy is making a debut and I think Rutu is the same as me”
~MS Dhoni #CSKvsDC pic.twitter.com/0VMu3nNLkY
— Hustler (@HustlerCSK) March 28, 2024
Dhoni quickly intervened and said that there is now a new captain at CSK.
“Well, there’s a new captain,” MS Dhoni quipped.
“It (muscle memory) is there. But I’m not someone who reacts a lot, especially when someone plays their first or second game. I think Rutu (Ruturaj) is pretty much the same. But it was fun to watch him (Rachin ) move all over the ground,” Dhoni added.
Earlier, Sameer Rizvi credited MS Dhoni for his small but quick and impactful knock in his maiden IPL match, saying the talismanic former India skipper advised him to play his natural game when he came to bat against Gujarat Giants .
Against GT here on Tuesday evening, Rizvi played a cameo of six-ball 14-run knock, including two sixes against Rashid Khan.
“Bhaiya (Dhoni) told me to play the way I generally play because it’s all about the actual gameplay. He said, ‘There’s nothing different. Skills remain the same, and it’s all just about the mentality. Never take any pressure and never be nervous and play depending on the situation,” he said in a video on IPLT20.com.
Rizvi recalled the moment when he was picked up by the franchise for a whopping Rs 8.4 crore during the pre-season auction as he felt his dream of meeting Dhoni will eventually come true.
“When I was picked up by CSK during the auction, my greatest happiness was that my dream of meeting Bhaiya (MS Dhoni) would come true. We also had net sessions together and learned a lot from him and the (support) staff. I plan to learn more and perform to the fullest.”
Having played cricket for Uttar Pradesh, he has decent T20 numbers, scoring 309 runs in 10 innings at a strike rate of 137.33, including two half-centuries.
(With PTI inputs)
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