Irfan Pathan feels bowlers should be wary of the MS Dhoni threat at the IPL 2020, which gets underway in the UAE on September 19. Dhoni, who announced his retirement from international cricket on Saturday, will continue to play the IPL – at least for a couple more seasons – and the former left-arm quick reckons retired bowlers like himself will be happy knowing they won’t have to bowl to Dhoni.
However, those who have to bowl to the former India captain in the IPL, Pathan has a message for them.
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“When he (Dhoni) comes to play in the IPL, I think all the bowlers, even the players who retired like me, will be very happy that they are not bowling against MS Dhoni in the IPL – because he is going to go with full flow,” he said on the Cricket Connected Show on Star Sports.
Pathan knows a thing or two about bowling to Dhoni, especially in the IPL. In fact, he holds a memory he wouldn’t be too proud of. During a 2010 IPL match between CSK and Kings XI Punjab in Dharamsala, Dhoni was assigned the task of scoring 16 runs off the last over, which was to be bowled by Pathan. Dhoni took just four balls to finish the match – carting Pathan for 4, 2, 6 and 6 – and take CSK into the semi-final.
“When he plays for CSK, he enjoys that, his best comes out as a batsman as well. But in this IPL, I am really looking forward to it. All the bowlers, be careful,” Pathan said.
The 13th edition of IPL will begin from September 19th, with the final to be played on November 10th. The tournament will played in the UAE this year - with the matches to be played in Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi.