WATCH: “That's the greatness of the man…” Shardul Thakur hails MS Dhoni for his astute captaincy in IPL 2021 final

CSK had won the IPL 2021 title by defeating KKR in the final.

By Salman Anjum - 02 Oct, 2022

India all-rounder Shardul Thakur’s four-year association with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) was a memorable one.

Thakur began his CSK stint with a trophy in 2018 while he won another IPL title with the MS Dhoni-led franchise in 2021. In fact, the Super Kings missed out on winning the 2019 edition of IPL by a whisker as well.

Shardul, who played for Delhi Capitals (DC) in the IPL 2022 after being picked by them at the mega-auction earlier this year, recently joined his former CSK teammate Ruturaj Gaikwad for a reunion video for the franchise.

In the video, Thakur showered rich praise on captain Dhoni while recalling his shrewd tactics from the 2021 IPL final.

"I don't know what Mahi bhai was thinking, he just sent Bravo to long-off, signalling him to go back. He asked me what I wanted to bowl. I said, you tell me, I am comfortable with whatever you ask me to do,” Shardul Thakur said.

"He told to keep mid-off in the circle. Venkatesh Iyer got out the very next ball, then Nitish Rana got out and we suddenly got the momentum from there. Yes, I bowled well, but again that's the greatness of the man, to think in such a tense situation also he brought some kind of reasoning and result," he added.

According to Shardul, the 2021 triumph was special because it came after a dismal campaign in 2020 and a heartbreaking 1-run loss in 2019 final.

"I had my experience of lifting the trophy in 2018. But in 2021 was more special because we also saw the loss in 2019, which was just a one-run loss. So, that hurt us a lot. It was a special year as we were able to turn the tide Not often do you see that a team has lost three games in a row and they make it up from there and win the final," he stated.

By Salman Anjum - 02 Oct, 2022

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