Unfortunately speaking, there haven’t been a lot of Sri Lankans that have been participating in the famed Indian Premier League. That’s even truer for the recent conception of the league. While at the peak of its powers, there were 3 legendary Sri Lankans in the famous franchise league in the form of Sanath Jayasuriya, Muttiah Muralitharan and even Kumar Sangakkara, there haven’t been too many in the league at the moment.

But do you remember, for instance if one were to ask you, whether you saw a certain Nuwan Kulasekara in there as well?

That’s actually right! The right arm former Sri Lankan medium pacer plied his talent in the league first back in the day on 27 April 2011 playing for the noted Chennai Super Kings and would play his final IPL contest not too long since marking his debut, in April 2012.

But during that time, it could be said, one of the most notable moments for Kulasekara, 263 international caps for Sri Lanka, came in the form of his interaction with a certain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

And speaking recently on the man, the former fast bowler for the island pearl that is Sri Lanka revealed something perhaps so interesting that one may be floored even more by the sheer conduct of the man we adore as among the game’s finest and most brilliant finishers.  

A noted performer for Sri Lanka recollects

Kulasekara, who in his time took, 199 one day international and 48 Test match wickets, shared that not long after the 2011 World Cup, Dhoni’s noticeable manner about winning the world cup and that memorable trophy triumph caught his notice. He said that he almost never spoke about it and even alluded to the fact that it was almost as if, MSD had put it all behind him.

While yes that was such a brilliant triumph for the remarkable cricketer from Jharkhand who led team India to the cusp and beyond a very eminent triumph, it didn’t seem to factor in much of his thoughts at that time or so Kulasekara noted.

So the big question is what did the former Sri Lankan cricketer have to say about Dhoni? 

“I joined Chennai Super Kings immediately after the 2011 World Cup but Dhoni never spoke about that final. That shows the kind of person he is. He is incredibly calm and always focused on the present. For him, the past is over. His only concern was winning the next game. That is something I really admired about him"

While there’s been so much magnetism and charm about Dhoni, what one cannot possibly rule out also at the same time is this sense of detachment about it all, ain’t it?