“Stop Looking at me and throw” – CSK throwdown specialist, Raj Palani opens up about first meeting with MS Dhoni
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MS Dhoni
Over the years, MS Dhoni has inspired many players on and off the field who have later went on to become big names in the cricking fraternity. One such being Kondappa Raj Palani, a throwdown specialist with CSK who opened up on his first meeting with the CSK skipper back in 2020.
2020 was a difficult year for MS Dhoni when it came to his cricket. The then 39 year old had just announced his retirement from International cricket and later on endured a difficult season with CSK where they finished 7th on the points table. However, just before the IPL, all everyone could talk about was MS Dhoni’s retirement as revealed by the CSK throwdown specialist.
Raj palani opens up on his first nervous conversation with MS Dhoni
Speaking to the CSK website, Palani said, “The first time, the camp started when Dhoni retired. I saw him for the first time then. He asked if you were the throwers. He asked me to throw balls at him. The team was pleased after that. The net bowlers were speaking about his retirement. After two or three weeks, he came to play sidearm. Everybody was arriving.”
“Fleming, Hussey, and everyone said Dhoni was coming and asked me to bowl carefully. The first two balls were wides. The next ball was a full toss. Dhoni came to me and said ‘Stop looking at me and bowl’. He asked me to play naturally. I then started bowling wherever he wanted and then he was very happy. He started addressing me every day since with my name,” he added.
Even though 2020 was a rough year, Raj Palani continued with CSK and the franchise went on to win the IPL for the 4th time the following year. While IPL 2022 didn’t go as planned, CSK will be glad that MS Dhoni is continuing with them for another year and hopefully can turn their fortunes in 2023.
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Shubham Mohta
(334 Articles Published)