CHENNAI: ‘Never go back,’ is one of life’s many truisms. Mahendra Singh Dhoni flipped the phrase when he heard that the Chennai Super Kings, his ‘second home’, were coming back. He couldn’t ‘think of not coming back to CSK’ as ‘it is a special place’ for the wicket-keeper. “That thought of being with any other franchise,” Dhoni told select reporters at a promotional event for India Cements on Friday, “was never a question.” The 36-year-old, who was surprisingly in a very chatty mood, spoke about CSK’s return, the lessons he learnt the last two years and how he manages to still be a ninja behind the stumps among other things. Excerpts...
On whether coming back to CSK was the most logical choice:
A lot of people approached me, I can tell you that. I can’t think of not coming back to CSK. What we have been as a team, how we have conducted ourselves, how the management has been, how the players have been, how the fans have been... I always keep saying ‘it’s like a second home to me’. The fans over here have adopted me, they accept me like one of their own. There can’t be a bigger compliment than that.
On the good lessons he has picked up over the last two years:
I don’t want to say anything controversial (laughs). What doesn’t kill you, makes you strong. The first eight editions (while playing for CSK) we qualified (to the knockouts) each time. But in those last two years (while playing for Rising Pune Supergiant), we were seventh once. It was a big learning curve. Those two years made me stronger and gave a glimpse of what can be done when you do badly. It doesn’t always work but you have a perspective on it.
On the perspective he is talking about:
I have seen ups and down when I was part of the national side where we didn’t perform well when traveling. You have to know the reasons. When you know the reasons, you can actually address the problem but you have to accept the reasons also. So I would say it was a fair experience.
On becoming captain again after a break:
I never captained a team before I became captain of the Indian cricket team (smiles). So that itself answers the question. A wicket-keeper is a vice-captain anyway. He is somebody who is in a position where he watches the game very closely. So he understands the angles and has all the bases covered. I don’t think it is a difficult job. Before a few of us (wicketkeepers) started captaining the side, it was regarded as too much of a burden. But stats have proved that keepers have actually been very good captains. It shouldn’t be a problem.
On his quicksilver-like movement behind the wickets:
I think it’s because of my unorthodox keeping style. Stephen Fleming always says that he has never seen me keep wickets in net sessions in his nine years of IPL coaching. I think a lot of it needs to be done in the mind. Keepers don’t really need a lot of catching. I have seen over-exaggeration from some ’keepers; they start going on the floor, ‘very frog style’ of keeping and ‘jaw is parallel to the floor’… what is a keeper supposed to do? You can drop 100 balls, but whenever there is a catch you take it and whenever there is a stumping opportunity, you take it. That’s what’s needed. You don’t want a very good keeper who is not consistent. You want a very bad keeper who keeps fumbling, but takes catches, effects stumping and helps captain set the right field.
swaroop@newindianexpress.com