Published 13:05 IST, March 31st 2023
CSK vs GT: IPL great opens up on MS Dhoni power hitting: 'His shot broke two fingers'
Ahead of the CSK vs GT IPL 2023 match, former Chennai and India batsman Robin Uthappa has recalled the incident when he 1st met MS Dhoni.
Advertisement
CSK vs GT: The wait for the 16th edition of the world's toughest league in the world is over as the Indian Premier League 2023 will kickstart from March 31, 2023, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The first match of the tournament will be played between the reigning champions Gujarat Titans and the four-time winners Chennai Super Kings.
Chennai Super Kings have been one of the most successful teams in the history of the Indian Premier League and the main reason behind its success is MS Dhoni. Dhoni has led CSK to win four IPL trophies and is the second-most-successful captain in IPL history.
Ahead of the IPL 2023 Chennai Super Kings vs Gujarat Titans match, MS Dhoni's teammate and former CSK batsman Robin Uthappa who announced his retirement from all forms of cricket in 2022 has shared the experience of his first meeting with the former India wicketkeeper-batsman.
Sharing the incident Uthappa told how MS Dhoni broke cricketer Sridharan Sriram's fingers during a training camp in Bengaluru. "The first time I saw MS Dhoni was during an India A camp in 2003 at the NCA in Bengaluru. MS was batting in the middle of the Chinnaswamy Stadium against Munaf Patel, who at that point in time was quick with a slingy action. There were other fast bowlers like Aavishkar Salvi. And MS was hitting huge sixes. He brought out the helicopter shot. Some of the balls even landed outside the stadium", Uthappa said in a conversation with Jio Cinema.
'I think he ended up with two broken fingers': Robin Uthappa
"In fact, he actually injured Sridharan Sriram. He stepped out and smashed it straight to the bowler. Sriram stuck his hand out and it hit him. We thought he was running after the ball but he crossed the ball and kept running towards the dressing room. He immediately knew that he had broken his hand. I think he ended up with two broken fingers. We all got an idea of how hard MS hits the ball. Then I knew that he will play for India", Uthappa continued.
Robin Uthappa and MS Dhoni have shared the team's dressing room with each other for a long time and Uthappa was also part of CSK in IPL 2021.
09:45 IST, March 31st 2023