Varun Chakaravarthy recalled in a recent interview what he felt while bowling to Mahendra Singh Dhoni as a net bowler at the start of his career in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) legend MS Dhoni, known as ‘Thala’, led the franchise to five titles. Varun Chakaravarthy, now the world No.1 T20I bowler, got his break in IPL as a net bowler for CSK before moving to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), where he went on to make his name.
The spinner, during an interview with Gaurav Kapoor on ‘Breakfast with Champions’, recalled being awed by MSD’s fan following.
“So CSK, when the place they are staying, the hotel where they stay and Chepauk Stadium – on the way is my house. So there used to be, used to be jam-packed, because CSK is going
for practice. So there have been times when I, when I followed them, the bus and all those things also. But cut to that, I was bowling to MSD and it was a great experience. But obviously, to bowl to him, the whole crowd was just to see CSK practice, there used to be 10,000-15,000 people who just turn up to see the sessions,” he said.
When asked if he ever outfoxed Dhoni in the nets, Varun said: “Yeah, there were few times I did get the better of him, but there was a lot of times he smacked the life out of me.”
Decibel Levels Off The Charts
Varun also said that it is not only in Chennai that Dhoni gets love from the fans but all over India, recalling how he was taken aback when ‘Thala’ walked out to bat, breaking all records of recorded decibel levels.
“But the thing is, it’s not only in Tamil Nadu that he gets this love wherever CSK goes and plays. The whole stadium is yellow, playing in Eden Gardens is also,” Varun said.
“There was one time when they tweeted that this was the loudest cheer ever. Some it just crossed some decibel, and it was against KKR, and I was standing, in short fine-leg. Dhoni walked past me. My God, that sound I’ve never heard that’s like, let’s like craziest sound you can ever,” he recalled.
