Sri Lankan all-rounder Thisara Perera has spoken about his time with the Rising Pune Supergiants in the Indian Premier League, where he played under the captaincy of MS Dhoni. Perera was a part of RPS in IPL 2016.
He recalled an incident from a match where the Pune team were struggling after losing five early wickets. When Perera walked in to bat, he started his innings with a conservative approach because the team was in trouble.
However, Dhoni from the non-striker’s end came up to him and said that he has been picked in RPS to bat freely and express himself.
“I remember a special incident with MS Dhoni for Rising Pune Supergiants, in 2016. In one of the matches, we were 35-5, and I came down to bat. MS was the non-striker.I defended my first ball and he comes to me knocking the pitch – ‘Hey, TP. What are you doing?’
“I said, ‘I am just watching the ball.’ The reply from him was very special, something which I didn’t expect with the sort of scorecard we were having at that time. ‘No, no. I picked you because you can hit the ball miles away. Go explode”, recalled Perera while speaking to News9.
Being able to play under your leadership has added a lot to my cricketing career . we will always miss you ‘Captain cool’ @msdhoni pic.twitter.com/9DkWr1TEU1
— Thisara perera (@PereraThisara) August 16, 2020
Always special to play under MS Dhoni- Thisara Perera
The trust shown by MS Dhoni gave Sri Lankan the confidence to go after the bowlers and play a quickfire knock for his team. Perera also highlighted how Dhoni in his typical style played till the 20th over and led the side to a great total.
“And from there on, I was just hitting every ball. I got around 18-ball 40 or something, which took the momentum away from the opposition. MS played until the 20th over and we scored around 170 or 180 from 35-5.”, said Perera.
Perera lauded Dhoni, describing him as one of the best leaders he has ever played under. “It is always special to play under MS. He is one of the best captains, I have played under in my career”, Perera concluded.