"He had told me that I don't directly walk into his playing XI" - Robin Uthappa reveals his first conversation with MS Dhoni after joining CSK
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) opener Robin Uthappa recently recalled his first conversation with MS Dhoni after being picked up by the franchise in 2021. He disclosed that the former CSK skipper had made it clear that he wasn't in his starting XI at that point in time.
Speaking on Ravichandran Ashwin's YouTube channel, Uthappa mentioned that MS Dhoni had called him in 2021 after he was transferred to the Chennai squad from Rajasthan Royals (RR). Robin Uthappa said:
"One thing I liked in that conversation with MS Dhoni was that on the same day he told me that as of now, I don't directly walk into his playing XI. We will see where it goes in a couple of months but I am not thinking about it at this point in time. When I came, they told me that I might have to wait for my turn. What was really nice was that after that once every 4-5 days, one coach or the other would come and speak to me."
Uthappa was released by Chennai ahead of the IPL 2022 auction earlier this year. However, they signed him back at his base price of ₹2 crores at the event. Uthappa spoke about the team's loyal fanbase while admitting he did receive some negative comments after the auction due to Suresh Raina remaining unsold. He added:
"I remember when CSK picked me, there were 80% positive comments and 20% negative ones, which is quite normal. Also, a lot of the negative comments came for me because of Suresh Raina not being picked. What I took from that was their loyalty towards one of them who has served CSK for so long. Nothing was personal towards me. But it was their loyalty towards him that they felt like they had to vent it out somewhere."
The right-handed batter has managed 91 runs from the team's first three matches in IPL 2022. He has a decent batting average of 30.33 and an impressive strike rate of 156.89 to his name this season.
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"There is a sense of security within CSK" - Robin Uthappa
The seasoned campaigner highlighted how the franchise tends to back its players and give them consistent opportunities. He cited the examples of Shane Watson and Suresh Raina as the players CSK decided to persist with despite their lack of form. Uthappa said:
"One of the things you see as soon as you enter this setup is that there is loyalty. There is a sense of security within this group. The physios and trainers have all been the same right from the inception of IPL. They don't change people just for the heck of changing it."
"As a player, I have seen that when they give you an opportunity, they give you 5-6 games. They think that you are really good. Like Watson had a bad IPL in 2018 till the finals and then he did something incredible for us. Similarly with Suresh Raina as well."
The defending champions CSK have had a dismal start to their campaign this year. They are still in search of their maiden win and are currently languishing in the penultimate position in the IPL 2022 points table.
Watch Uthappa's conversation with Ashwin below: