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'MS Dhoni gives me a lot of banter': Devon Conway spills the beans on relationship with CSK captain, 'There's an aura'

Jun 15, 2023 08:37 AM IST

Devon Conway had played an integral role in CSK's run to their fifth IPL title this year.

MS Dhoni's status as the most iconic captain in thei history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) was cemented in the 2023 when his Chennai Super Kings (CSK) side won their fifth title. CSK thus equalled Mumbai Indians' record for most IPL titles and Ravindra Jadeja, who had won the final in dramatic fashion with a six and a four off the last two balls, dedicated the victory to Dhoni.

MS Dhoni equaled Rohit Sharma's record for most IPL titles as captain this year(Hindustan Times)
MS Dhoni equaled Rohit Sharma's record for most IPL titles as captain this year(Hindustan Times)

Among the stars of the 2023 campaign for CSK was New Zealand's Devon Conway. The New Zealand wicketkeeper-batter, who has put in extraordinary performances across formats in his short international career. He was player of the match in the final. He also ended the season with 672 runs at a strike rate of 139.70 with five half centuries.

Conway said that he and Dhoni loved to banter with each other but he also held a lot of respect for the former India captain for what he has achieved in his illustrious career.

“I've been lucky to spend quite a lot of time with him. Moeen (Ali), MS, (Ajinkya) Rahane and I spent a lot of time in the team room watching a lot of IPL games, talking about different teams and strategies, and in general, life beyond cricket,” Conway told ESPNCricinfo.

“The relationship I have with MS is cool; he gives me a lot of banter and chirp, quirky one-liners. Now I've started to give it back to him (laughs). The respect is immense. Every time he walks into a room, there's an aura around him. You want to talk to him, understand what he has to say because of his status in cricket and what he has achieved,” he said.

Conway said that he used to play snooker a lot with Dhoni. “We were fortunate to play a lot of snooker late nights and early mornings. MS and I were in one team and would often play Moeen and his close friend Tanvir, practically his godson. And our games would start shortly after heading back to the hotel from a match to around 2-3am. We've shared a lot of laughs and good, constructive chats around those games and how to approach different situations and those sorts of things,” he said.

While Conway tends to play as a wicketkeeper for New Zealand, it was Dhoni who kept wickets for CSK and teammates and members of the coaching staff had mentioned over the course of the season as to how funny it is to see the pair during their wicketkeeping sessions.

“He's learnt his craft over so many years and I guess it's hard for him to explain how he does things because it's so natural. The sessions were funny. What was actually simple for him was so complicated for me since I'm still just part-time. He's on a different wavelength to how I am when I work on my wicketkeeping. It was all the more incredible because he doesn't keep at training,” he said.

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