“You have to be…”: Tushar Deshpande recalls MS Dhoni’s valuable advice

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) pacer Tushar Deshpande shared MS Dhoni’s advice that helped him get motivated ahead of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) season.

Deshpande, who struggled during the initial parts of the campaign, ended up playing a crucial role in CSK’s fifth IPL triumph and in the process, also solidified his place in the team’s bowling unit.

Due to many of CSK’s pacers being absent during the season with injuries, Deshpande led the attack alongside young talents like Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Matheesha Pathirana, and Akash Singh. Deshpande gave impressive performances throughout the season, taking 21 wickets in 16 matches with an economy rate of 9.92.

Deshpande recalled a motivating conversation with Dhoni at Chepauk during the IPL 2023 preparation camp.

“You have everything to succeed at international level. But you have to be calm during your run-up. Don’t get distracted by the crowd. Just take a deep breath, stay calm and bowl.’ If Mahi tells you that you have everything to be successful at international level, boss, that itself is an achievement,” Deshpande told ESPNcricinfo.

Despite an expensive spell in the season-opening loss to the Gujarat Titans (GT), Dhoni motivated Deshpande with his words.

“Mahi came to me and said, ‘You haven’t made any mistakes. You bowled all good balls. It was not your day today. In the next match repeat the same,” Deshpande said.

Dhoni also advised him to stick to his strengths and believe in himself while practicing in the nets.

“I was bowling good yorkers, but suddenly I bowled a bouncer and got hit for a 100-metre six. He asked me, ‘Why did you bowl the bouncer?’ I told him I thought he was expecting the yorker. He told me, ‘Don’t play cricket in the mind. Yorker is a yorker and no one can hit you,’ ” Deshpande said.

“He was telling me we keep trying to play ahead of the game instead of staying in the present. The other thing he told me is to focus on my fitness, which is important for fast bowlers,” Deshpande added.

The post “You have to be…”: Tushar Deshpande recalls MS Dhoni’s valuable advice appeared first on Cricket Country.