File image of Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni with Suresh Raina.© Twitter
When they played together, Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni were one of the best Indian pairs. Be it for the Indian cricket team or the Chennai Super Kings, the partnerships two have forged while wearing the Blues or Yellows is now part of cricketing folklore. Such was the impact of the Raina-Dhoni alliance that Chennai Super Kings fans fondly called Raina ‘Chinna Thala’ after Dhoni became their ‘Thala’. On a new episode of ‘My Time with Dhoni’ on JioCinema, Raina revealed an unknown side of Dhoni.
MSD, the captain cool, rarely shows his emotions on the cricket field. But once things were different. Raina recalled Dhoni hitting a six in in 2010 at Dharamshala in a match against Kings XI Punjab. “He clubbed a big one over long-on, and then punched his helmet. I have never seen him do this in any match or any situation. Everyone knew him as Captain Cool, but the energy he showed was because of the match situation,” Raina remembered. Dhoni led CSK in a tricky, high-scoring chase in that match that took them to the semifinals, eventually the ultimate prize too.
Giving a peek into his off-field passion, Raina reveals Dhoni’s passion for two-wheelers has been extended to four-wheelers too. “We all know how many bikes he has and how he personally fine-tunes them, but he has extended this passion for vintage cars. He has become a collector,” Raina revealed. Mr. IPL also divulged his skipper’s love for gaming. “Whenever we would ask him to go for dinner, he would inevitably play a game and delay our meals by 10-15 mins because he was intensely involved in the game,” Raina said.
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