Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Image Courtesy: BCCI

Mahendra Singh Dhoni had his task cut out when this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) season eleven began. The veteran skipper was back at the helm for returning Chennai Super Kings (CSK) who were making a comeback to the league after serving a two-year ban.

Not only did he have the herculean task of guiding Super Kings as per their reputation but also had to lead from the front in a fine fashion.

In the last few years, Dhoni’s reputation as a finisher had taken a severe beating. The former India skipper had to face constant criticism for his new batting approach in which he used to take time to settle down before unleashing the big shots.

But in the end, everything finished in dream style as Dhoni led from the front to take the Super Kings to lift the coveted title.

In fact, he has had one of the best IPL seasons of his life. He not only won games for his side almost single-handedly but it also showed an unparalleled consistency.

I Wanted to Take the Responsibility of Winning the Game for CSK: Mahendra Singh DhoniCredits: BCCI

The Super Kings skipper Dhoni finished the season with 455 runs to his name. In addition, he also scored three fifties while smashing 24 fours and 30 sixes. It was his best season since 2013 when he had scored 461 runs in 18 games.

“Fitness part started a few years back, when I left Test cricket, when it comes to this IPL (consciousness about fitness) started the day we sat to make our team. I was sure in my mind that I wanted to bat up the order, because with age, me batting down the order was like quicksand,” he said on the sidelines of Star Reimagine Awards as quoted by PTI.

In a recent interview, Dhoni said he was determined to bat up the order as coming in the lower half was akin to being in quicksand for him.

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On the wrong side of the 30s, he said he also needed to focus on his fitness to excel in the gruelling league.

“I wanted to make it sure that I wanted to take the responsibility of winning the game, but I was coming so down the order, that I was not giving time to myself,” he added.

In order to avoid over-dependence, Dhoni also made sure to make a team which batted deep.

“So it was more like quicksand, the more I flutter, the deeper I would go. So I said I want to make a team where we bat deep, that gives me a chance to bat up the order. And to me up the order doesn’t mean I want to bat at 3, 4 or 5, it’s the number of overs,” he said.

Dhoni
Credits: AFP.

“So I said I want to bat up, so when I go into bat I would like to aggressive, so that even if I get out, it gives others a chance to reinvent themselves about finishing the game, what they need to do, if they are under pressure and all of that,” he said.

The three-time IPL-winning skipper further said batting in the middle order gave him the chance to be more aggressive which helped the Chennai-based out to rely on the stability.

“Fortunately we did not use our batting order to the full extent in the whole of IPL because of Watson, Rayadu, Raina, me, Bravo, we all kept scoring runs and that really helped us,” he added.

 

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IPL 2018
Image Courtesy: BCCI

 

The legendary skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni concluded by reiterating that he had his eyes set on making a team which batted deep.

“But my planning right from the start was sure to make a team, which bats deep. Everybody should be able to bat, and that gives me an opportunity to go out there and express myself,” he concluded.

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