"You continue to be funky" - Ravichandran Ashwin on how MS Dhoni gave him the same advice for 15 years
Veteran Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin believes legendary wicketkeeper MS Dhoni knows exactly what needs to be said to get the best out of his players. Ashwin began his IPL career under Dhoni's captaincy at the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
Ashwin is always keen to adapt and add more variations to his repertoire according to the demands of the modern game. He recalled how Dhoni has always given him just one piece of advice whenever he has approached for feedback.
Ravichandran Ashwin told Revsportz about MS Dhoni:
"I met him in Dubai after a game between Delhi against CSK and I asked him, 'how you find it'. I have developed that back spin. He said, 'you are always like that. It has been your strength. Remember, you continue to be funky. Remember, you continue to work on your variations'. I was like, this was what he told me 15 years ago."
"The man continued to see the same thing. And then like after a brief pause, he told me again, 'you know what, I know what you are thinking but that is your strength. So, keep being funky, keep expressing yourself,'" he added.
Ashwin believes that it is not just the cricketing side of things that Dhoni sees but also the mental aspect of it, knowing what needs to be said to give the player more confidence.
Ravichandran Ashwin on how MS Dhoni got the best out of him
Ravichandran Ashwin recalled his debut IPL season in 2010 when MS Dhoni used him as a new-ball specialist in the powerplay. He shed light on how an injury to Dhoni led to Suresh Raina taking over the reins for a brief period and how Ashwin was then used outside the powerplay, not to a great effect.
However, as soon as Dhoni was back, he was back at using Ashwin in the powerplay.
"I think he said, 'I want that guy back'. I came back and he again used me with the new ball because he used me inside the Powerplay against Adam Gilchrist and I got him out in Chennai. And he used me again in those same roles and continuously used me like that for several years to follow. He used me inside the batting Powerplay, even when I played for India. So, I think that is quite a fascinating sort of a belief that he had and he kept it very simple when he told me things," the veteran spinner said in the same interaction.
MS Dhoni won as many as five IPL trophies with CSK, the latest title coming with a thrilling last-ball win against the Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2023 final.