Chennai Super Kings fast bowler Mukesh Choudhary revealed that Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the captain of the Chennai franchise, has had a significant influence on his cricket career ever since he joined the team in IPL 2022.
At the IPL 2022 mega auction, CSK bought Choudary at the base price of Rs 20 lakhs. It was a dream come true moment for the 26-year old Mukesh Choudary, the highest wicket-taker for Maharashtra in Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2021–2022.
The speedster, who featured in 13 matches in the 15th edition of the Indian Premiere League (IPL 2022), took a total of 16 wickets with a best of 4/46.
Choudary, who had a fantastic domestic season, claimed prior to the start of the IPL that he did not anticipate being selected by CSK and then being given the chance to play in more than a dozen matches.
“I never thought I would play for Chennai Super Kings. When I was on the team bus (for the first time), Dhoni tapped me on the shoulder and I was like, ‘Oh this is happening with me’ and I felt very proud,” said Choudhary on chennaisuperkings.com.
Choudhary, who was recently signed up by the KFC T20 Max series in Queensland along with Chetan Sakariya, stated at first he had a number of forgettable appearances for CSK, but Dhoni’s encouraging remarks helped him gain confidence.
“In my first two matches, I couldn’t perform to my potential. So, I used to talk to him (Dhoni) every day and also in between matches. Dhoni told me to believe in my abilities.
Apart from Dhoni, Choudary also said that CSK’s opening batter Ruturaj Gaikwad also had a big impact on his game.
Rutu (Ruturaj) is my friend… so he was always there with me, he supported me and gave me the confidence saying, ‘You have everything, you just have to believe in yourself because for every player it happens, where they go through this phase.’ After the Mumbai (Indians) game, I gained confidence and continued to bowl with that confidence,” added Choudhary.
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