Former Sri Lanka pacer Nuwan Kulasekara praised MS Dhoni for his humble character and leadership, noting that Indian legend never once mentioned their history or the 2011 World Cup final after they became teammates in the Indian Premier League.
Notably, Dhoni hit the iconic winning six off Kulasekara to secure the 2011 World Cup for India but never chose to bring up or boast about that historic moment when the two later shared a dressing room at Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
Soaking to RevSportz, Kulasekara revealed Dhoni kept team focus entirely on upcoming tasks rather than past personal milestones. He particularly admired how the former CSK skipper treated everyone equally and maintained total focus on the present.
"I joined Chennai Super Kings immediately after the World Cup, but Dhoni never spoke about that final. That shows the kind of person he is. He is incredibly calm and always focused on the present. For him, the past is over. His only concern was winning the next game. That is something I really admired about him," Kulasekara said.
"In cricket, especially during the powerplay and the death overs, such things can happen to any bowler. I tried my best to dismiss him (Dhoni), but he still hit me for a six. The positive memory is that we came back and won the 2014 T20 World Cup in a similar fashion. That is how this beautiful game works," he added.
Kulasekara also rued dropping Gautam Gambhir’s catch in the 2011 World Cup final. Gambhir was on 30 when he miscued a shot off Suraj Randiv to long-off, where Kulasekara failed to hold on. The former left-handed opener capitalized on the lifeline to score 97 off 122 balls, anchoring India's successful chase at the Wankhede Stadium.
"At one stage we definitely believed we could win. I dropped an important catch off Gambhir, and naturally there is regret. But these moments happen in big matches. Ben Stokes experienced something similar in the 2016 T20 World Cup final before going on to play a match-winning role in England's 2019 World Cup triumph. These experiences are part of the game. I also believe the dew played a significant role in that final," Kulasekara remarked.
