[ad_1]
India’s Yusvendra Chahal admitted that he was and still is in awe of former India captain MS Dhoni. He openly admits that Donnie is the only person in front of whom he finds himself tongue-tied.
Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav often credit Dhoni’s role behind the stumps for their success at international level. Both teams lost their place in the team after Dhoni retired from international cricket before making a strong comeback later on.
In an interview on Ranvirullah Badiya’s YouTube channel, Chahal opened up about his crush on Doni.
“He’s just a person, unke saamne aate hai meri bolti bandh ho jaati hai (I’m tongue-tied in front of him). I don’t talk much no matter what kind of mood I’m in. I sit still and only respond if Mahi bhai asks something. Otherwise, I just be silent “.
On what kind of chat Dhoni had with the players, the spinner replied that one could talk to him about anything. Praising the legend, he recalled an incident where the goalkeeper encouraged him even when he was going in a lot of runs in the T20I.
“We were playing a T20 match against South Africa at Centurion. For the first time, I was hit for 64 runs in four overs. (Heinrich) Klaasen was hammering me, so he asked if I was going to spin the wicket. I said ok, but then Klaasen hit me for six” added the 32-year-old.
Continuing with the story, Chahal added that Doni taught him an important lesson.
“I was walking back when Mahi Bhai came to me and told me, ‘Aaj teri din nahi hai, koi pat nahi’ (today is not your day, that’s fine). But he told me the five balls I had left, I should try not to compromise on those balls because that would help.” The team. From that experience, I realized that even if you have a day off, you can still support the team.”
Chahal went wicketless in the match as Heinrich Klassen knocked out 69 from 30 as South Africa chased 189.
“I trusted him blindly” – Chahal in his equation with Dhoni
Elaborating on his on-field equation with Dhoni, Chahal said he trusted the legendary cricketer blindly and mostly followed the advice he was given. He even admitted to tasting a lot of success because of the same thing.
“I trusted him blindly. If he was telling me something, I would follow him. Ninety-five percent, I would follow what he said and five percent, I would tell him on my side. When we used to come to the bowl, it was after the tenth day. He used to know what was going on on the wicket and how the surface will play,” he said.
Chahal added that there were many instances when Dhoni told him to sit on the stumps and not try anything different and take a wicket straight away.
He completed:
“I got a wicket in that or the next. That blind confidence is very important. I also admire him. He’s made 50 per cent of my life as a bowler easier. Otherwise, he goes in and serves out a couple of overs to judge the pace of wickets. He used to tell us ahead and we were We start attacking from the beginning. From me, it was as if Mahi Bhai said this, that’s it.”
Chahal has played 72 ODIs and 75 T20Is for India, claiming 121 and 91 wickets respectively.
[ad_2]
