With all the trophies in his cabinet, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is one of the most influential cricketers in history. It is hard to disagree that he has got the biggest fan base across the globe. On Saturday the second edition of Tamil Nadu Premier League got underway. The opening ceremony which was expected to be a low-profile event turned the most anticipated event with his presence.
At the opening ceremony, Dhoni shared a lot of things with his fans, right from fitness, playing under pressure to his success mantra.
“Fitness is a major part of any sport today whether it is skill-oriented or endurance-oriented. If you have right kind of food and supplement it with training, you can get much more out of yourself, both in physical and mental aspects,” Dhoni said.
“The way a cricketer leads his life is completely different from what their friends or siblings do or even sportspersons in other disciplines lead their life and the wicketkeeper batsman highlighted on the issue as well. Enjoying life is important, but as an athlete, you need to know what things you can’t do that your brother or sister can. These days, players get educated about what they need to do. Most of the players learn from the seniors and there will be physios to assist you.” he added
Dhoni believes in living life a quarter mile at a time.He believes in living that particular moment and cherishing it. “We shouldn’t think too much ahead of time and just concentrate on the process. If you are defending a score, think about which bowler can be used and what will be the field placements,” Dhoni added.
“When you are constantly thinking of all these things, you don’t think about the results. So there is less pressure and you are trying to make sure that the process is more important. You are looking at how you can alter the course of the game and that in turn will help me get the desired results.”
“That is how I keep myself calm under pressure and practice is something that gives you the confidence as to what needs to be done under pressure. You may not win ten out of ten games, but when you practice the right way and you have been in these types of situations for a period of time, you know how to get out of it,” he further added.
At the opening ceremony, a six hitting competition was held where every cricketer was given 3 shots. India cricketers MS Dhoni, Mohit Sharma, S Badrinath, Pawan Negi, former Australia batsman Matthew Hayden and Tamil Nadu batsman Anirudha Srikkanth were the ones to have a go and only Dhoni hit 3 sixes in 3 balls.
– by Atharva Apte
