Kondappa Raj Palani - MSD - CSK - sportstiger

Picture Credit: IPL/Twitter

Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni recently confirmed that he will be back in Yellow Jersey in the next season, stating it would be unfair on the Chennai fans if he retired from all cricket after not playing at Chepauk. Although Dhoni could not repeat the results of the 2021 season for his franchise, the CSK skipper impressed everyone with his finishing skills. Dhoni smashing 16 off the last four deliveries against Mumbai Indians was one of the most memorable events in the tournament.

CSK throwdown specialist Kondappa Raj Palani recently revealed an interesting first interaction with the legendary skipper. While speaking on CSK's official website, Palani recalled an incident from last season's practice session when Dhoni helped him to regain his composure which he lost after seeing the CSK skipper for the first time.

The incident occurred during CSK's Chennai leg of the pre-season preparatory camp ahead of IPL 2020. "I saw him for the first time then. He asked if you were the throwers. He asked me to throw balls at him," Palani said. Having seen the legendary skipper in front of him, Palani lost his nerves and bowled a few wide and full-toss.

As Dhoni understood the situation, the CSK skipper went up to Palani and suggested to stop getting nervous or anxious and focus on throwing the ball. "Don't look at my face and bowl," he told him before taking his stance at nets. Palani further revealed that he held his nerves afterwards and bowled wherever Dhoni wanted. "He seemed pleased and happy after that net session," Palani concluded.

Notably, MS Dhoni has led the Chennai franchise to four IPL titles; 2021 edition being the most recent one.

After the Chennai franchise attempted to make a captaincy transition by appointing Jadeja as the new captain, following poor performance franchise took a U-turn and reappointed Dhoni as a skipper. However, Chennai won a couple of close matches under the leadership of Dhoni but failed to qualify for the playoffs.