‘You can hit the ball miles, go explode’ – Thisara Perera opens up on a special moment with 'brother' MS Dhoni

Former Sri Lankan cricketer Thisara Perera recalled an incident that took place when he was batting with Indian cricket legend Mahendra Singh Dhoni during the 2016 edition of the IPL. That was the time when the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) were banned for 2 years, and Dhoni was rendering his services for the Pune side.

Perera said that when he was batting with Dhoni in the 9th edition of the tournament, Dhoni walked up to him and told him to just bat. Adding that Dhoni’s gesture made him feel like a brother, the 32-year-old said that when he defended the ball, Dhoni told him to explode, as he was picked in the side for his ability to hit the ball a long way.

“I remember a special incident with MS Dhoni for Rising Pune Supergiants, in 2016, and that is where I felt that Dhoni is like my brother. In one of the matches, we were 35-5, and I came down to bat. MS was the non-striker.

He walked up to me and said, ‘Hi, TP. Let’s just bat’. 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,” said Perera in a chat with News9.

It is always special to play under MS Dhoni: Thisara Perera

Thisara Perera also added that he went on to smash every delivery after that. Adding that it is always special to play under MS Dhoni, Perera concluded by stating that the 40-year-old is one of the best captains he has played under in his cricketing career.

“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. And that is why it is always special to play under MS. He is one of the best captains, I have played under in my career,” concluded Perera.