Maharashtra batter Rahul Tripathi recalled the time he got while sharing the dressing room with MS Dhoni in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He was part of Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS), along with Dhoni after Chennai Super Kings (CSK) were banned for two years.

Tripathi recalled how Dhoni used to help him get going in the cash-rich league against high-quality opponents. He said that the ex-India captain had treated him like his younger brother, as Dhoni does with other players as well.

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“I still remember when I was on my IPL debut, he came and said, “jaise nets me khel rahe ho, bilkul waise hi khelo” (Play as you play in nets). He treats every player as his younger brother. He guided me throughout the tournament in 2017," Tripathi told News18 in an interview. 

The 30-year-old was part of Rajasthan Royals (RR) before joining Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Dhoni had even scolded Tripathi when he felt there was a need to charge him up.

"Sometimes he scolded me as well. ‘Push hard….do this’. Like when I was playing for Rajasthan Royals and KKR, I used to consult him whenever I got time. “Kya kar rahe ho,” (What are you doing these days) he always used to ask me," he added. 

Tripathi's KKR and CSK had a face-off in the last IPL final, which was won by the Dhoni-led side. He was forced to bat lower in the batting order after suffering a hamstring injury. 

"I couldn’t score runs, I was really struggling to run between the wickets. After I got out, Mahi bhai tapped on my back and said: “Koi nai, aaj tumhara day nahi tha, But tune hundred percent try kiya”(It wasn’t your day, but you gave your hundred percent). I was feeling very down since we lost the final, but Mahi bhai came after the game also and spoke to me for a minute or so,” he recalled.

Now, Tripathi will play for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the upcoming season after the franchise bought him for INR 8.5 crore. 

(With News18 Inputs)