If Chennai Super Kings are the definition of success in the Indian Premier League, MS Dhoni is the secret ingredient to the recipe. Over the years, CSK have done wonders in the league, winning the title 5 times, with none other than Dhoni leading his troops from the front. No matter if it's about the youngsters coming into the team or veterans, Dhoni has managed to get the best out of them more often than not. The performance of opening batter Devon Conway in the IPL 2023 season is a prime example.
Conway, who was named the player of the match in the final against Gujarat Titans, lauded skipper Dhoni for the way he mentored him this season. The Kiwi star also revealed that Dhoni has been giving him plenty of banter but now, he has started to give it back to the 'Thala'.
"I've been lucky to spend quite a lot of time with him. Moeen, MS, [Ajinkya] Rahane and I spent a lot of time in the team room watching a lot of IPL games, talking about different teams and strategies, and in general, life beyond cricket. The relationship I have with MS is cool; he gives me a lot of banter and chirp, quirky one-liners. Now I've started to give it back to him (laughs)," he said.
During the chat, Conway also spoke about the 'aura' that Dhoni has which makes everyone speak to him, and seek guidance.
"The respect is immense. Every time he walks into a room, there's an aura around him. You want to talk to him, understand what he has to say because of his status in cricket and what he has achieved. We were fortunate to play a lot of snooker late nights and early mornings. MS and I were in one team and would often play Moeen and his close friend Tanvir, practically his godson. And our games would start shortly after heading back to the hotel from a match to around 2-3 am. We've shared a lot of laughs and good, constructive chats around those games and how to approach different situations and those sorts of things," the New Zealand batter revealed.