Live Score
Cricket Teams
Cricket Players'I picked you because you can hit the ball miles away. Go explode': SL star recalls 'special moment' with Dhoni in IPL
The Sri Lankan cricketer recalled a ‘special moment’ while batting with MS Dhoni in the IPL.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni may have been synonymous with the Chennai Super Kings but they are not the only franchise he represented in the Indian Premier League. In 2016 and 2017, when CSK were banned for two years, Dhoni donned the jersey for Rising Pune Supergiants. He had led the side in the 2016 edition of the tournament and one of his teammates from the side, Sri Lanka's Thisara Perera, recalled a ‘special moment’ while batting with Dhoni during a game.
Perera, who played only one season for the Pune franchise, recalled sharing a partnership with MS Dhoni and revealed the moment where he felt “Dhoni is like my brother.”
“I remember a special incident with MS Dhoni for Rising Pune Supergiants, in 2016, and that is where I felt that Dhoni is like my brother. In one of the matches, we were 35-5, and I came down to bat. MS was the non-striker,” Perera began, as he narrated the story to News9.
“He walked up to me and said, 'Hi, TP. Let's just bat'. I defended my first ball and he comes to me knocking the pitch - 'Hey, TP. What are you doing?' I said, 'I am just watching the ball.' The reply from him was very special, something which I didn't expect with the sort of scorecard we were having at that time. 'No, no. I picked you because you can hit the ball miles away. Go explode'.”
Perera further mentioned that Dhoni remained unbeaten till the end of the innings and named the current CSK skipper as “one of the best captains” he played under.
"And from there on, I was just hitting every ball. I got around 18-ball 40 or something, which took the momentum away from the opposition. MS played until the 20th over and we scored around 170 or 180 from 35-5. And that is why it is always special to play under MS. He is one of the best captains, I have played under in my career," said Perera.
