“I picked you because you can hit the ball miles away” – Thisara Perera reveals interesting conversation with MS Dhoni
Former Sri Lanka all-rounder Thisara Perera recently revealed an anecdote from one of the encounters with MS Dhoni during his time in the Rising Pune Supergiant.
Incidentally, Dhoni led Pune in 2016 and 2017 when Chennai Super Kings were suspended due to their involvement in spot-fixing. Perera, who was one of the most devastating all-rounder at that time, was part of the Pune side.
During one of the game, Pune were in a spot of bother with when Thisara Perera joined MS Dhoni in the middle. The former Sri Lankan looked to defend the ball but Dhoni’s approach took the former by surprise. In an exclusive chat with News9, the 32-year-old cricketer said:
“I remember a special incident with MS Dhoni for Rising Pune Supergiants, in 2016, and that is where I felt that Dhoni is like my brother. In one of the matches, we were 35-5, and I came down to bat. MS was the non-striker.”
Thisara Perera added:
“He walked up to me and said, ‘Hi, TP. Let’s just bat’. I defended my first ball and he comes to me knocking the pitch – ‘Hey, TP. What are you doing?’ I said, ‘I am just watching the ball.’ The reply from him was very special, something which I didn’t expect with the sort of scorecard we were having at that time. ‘No, no. I picked you because you can hit the ball miles away. Go explode.”
“He is one of the best captains” – Thisara Perera on MS Dhoni
Adding further, Perera stated that Chennai ended up scoring around 170-180 from 35/5. Hailing the former India captain, Thisara Perera stated playing under MS Dhoni is always a special feeling.
“And from there on, I was just hitting every ball. I got around 18-ball 40 or something, which took the momentum away from the opposition. MS played until the 20th over and we scored around 170 or 180 from 35-5. And that is why it is always special to play under MS. He is one of the best captains, I have played under in my career,” concluded Perera.
