Chennai Super Kings all-rounder Shreyas Gopal has lauded MS Dhoni while also showing gratitude to represent the franchise CSK and share the dressing room with the legendary captain. The 31-year-old Gopal said that he learned leadership skills and how to handle players from the seasoned veteran Dhoni. He further credited the legendary skipper for his tactical genius and ability to deliver under pressure.
Shreyas Gopal is currently leading the Mangalore Dragons in the ongoing KSCA Maharaja T20 League. He has done well and performed by leading from the front as his team is doing well in the Maharaja league. It remains to be seen how well they do and could they go on and lift the trophy.
Shreyas Gopal’s Massive Praise for MS Dhoni.
Speaking on the side-lines of the tournament in Mysore on August 26th, Shreyas Gopal told Sports Yaari’s You Tube channel: “It’s very hard to be MS Dhoni; it’s extremely hard. People think that it’s very easy to be MS Dhoni. There is a lot of fame and people shout cheer, but to be him, to be so grounded and be so humble and to be so empathetic, caring is very hard. And you also understand that he’s also a human being. He loves doing very simple and basic things, and that is his greatness.”
Shreyas Gopal further added: “Mainly, it’s basically how to handle a player. how to put a player in a tournament, who to use for the specific over, tactically, there have been so many talks with him. And there’s no one better than him; everyone knows that. So, learning captaincy, learning how to finish matches, just learning how to, the way he deals with his stardom.”
Shreyas Gopal hopes to be with CSK for a few more years.
Shreyas Gopal reiterated that it was a dream come true moment to be with MS Dhoni at the Chennai-based franchise. The Karnataka-born player also added that he wants to stay with the Super Kings for IPL 2026. Shreyas Gopal also urged the 44-year-old MS Dhoni to play yet another season in the T20 league.
In the same video, he said: “To play with Dhoni was a dream for many of us, billions of us maybe. So I got that chance last year, and I would love to continue that for another few more years.”
He further added: “The more he plays the game, the more it’s beneficial for cricket. And the discussions that we have with him in the dressing room, the inputs we get, it’s just priceless. So, I think I’m extremely grateful to be playing for CSK, and playing with and under him.”
The Chennai Super Kings bought Shreyas Gopal for Rs 30 lakh at the IPL 2025 mega auction. He, however, did not get a game last season. Overall, the leg-spinner has scalped 52 wickets in 52 matches at an economy rate of 8.16 in the IPL. With the bat, the right-hander Gopal has scored 180 runs in 22 innings.
It remains to be seen whether Shreyas Gopal gets retained by Chennai Super Kings ahead of the mini-auction or whether he is let go into the auction. With Ravichandran Ashwin now retiring from IPL, Gopal could be in line for CSK debut next season should he be retained by the franchise. It also remains to be seen whether MS Dhoni comes back for another season and the call will be entirely his and no one’s at this stage.
The Super Kings had an IPL 2025 to forget and must re-strategize their planning ahead of the mini auction for 2026 season. They have to rebuild from scratch and also start looking at life beyond Dhoni as well even if the stalwart returns next season. There seems to be no succession plan for CSK and they must get things right, otherwise another horror season could await the 5-time champions. We shall see how things unfold for CSK and other franchise teams in the days ahead.
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