Back in the Chennai Super Kings colours, MS Dhoni has been rolling back the years with his performances in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season. With his cameos as a finisher, Dhoni has given fans plenty to cheer about already in this campaign. While fans are truly cherishing the return of ‘Thala’, even his former Chennai Super Kings teammate Matthew Hayden was impressed by what he saw from the 41-year-old’s bat this season. In an exclusive interview with NDTV, Hayden admitted that he was wondering at one point last season if Dhoni is ever going to play again.
In a chat, Hayden was reminded of the ‘mangoes trade’ during his active days as a player. It was Dhoni who had sent Hayden mangoes when the latter was lacking motivation.
But now, Hayden doesn’t think Dhoni needs the favour to be returned as he is striking the ball beautifully.
“That was a bit of a low cost trade”, Hayden said when asked if he is sending mangoes to Dhoni now that he is injured like he once did when he had run out of motivation.
“Runs for mangoes, isn’t it? It seemed pretty simple. He is in great touch himself. Last year we were thinking, is he going to play again and he has come out this season with a huge strike-rate of over 200. He is creating an impact once again, like the way he has in the IPL. He is having those cameo innings which is superb.”
Chennai have looked like a formidable side this campaign, strengthening their case for a top-four finish in the league stage of IPL 2023. With the Chepauk crowd behind them, CSK have once again turned their home into a fortress.
Though Dhoni hasn’t done much batting this season, fans are excited to see that even at this stage of his career, the ‘Thala’ has what it takes to pull off heroic finishes.
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