The sprint between CSK skipper MS Dhoni and Dwayne Bravo after the 2018 IPL final at the Wankhede Stadium is etched in every cricket fans’ mind and Bravo has now revealed that it was a challenge he had put forward to Dhoni for calling him old throughout the season.
“He kept saying throughout the entire season that I am an old man, I am an old man. I am very slow. I told him, ‘I will challenge you in a sprint between the wickets’. He said ‘no chance’. I said ‘we will do it after the tournament is over’,” Bravo said during an Instagram live chat.
“I said ‘I don’t want to do it in the middle of the tournament and one of us pop our hamstrings’. We did it after the final. It was a very close race, very very close. He beat me. It was a good race. He was very quick.”
Bravo further thanked both Dhoni and coach Stephen Fleming for showing faith in his abilities.
“I am trusted by the captain MS a lot, and the coach Stephen Fleming. They allow me to be myself. Sometimes, I bowl in the death overs and go for a lot of runs. Different teams, different captains, even in the commentary they said ‘it’s time to move on from Bravo, get someone else to bowl at the death’.
“CSK always show faith in my ability to bowl at the death. It paid off. I can say, more often than not, you can deliver. Coming up against top players, things won’t always go your way. But I am a strong believer in my talent,” he said.
Had everything gone according to plan, both these players would have been busy featuring in the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
However, the tournament which was originally scheduled to commence on 29 March has now been postponed indefinitely owing to the coronavirus pandemic.
The virus has already infected over 24,00,000 people worldwide while over 1,65,000 people globally have lost their lives after contracting the virus.
In India, there are more than 17,000 infected people already while over 550 have lost their lives after contracting the infection.
There is still no sure shot treatment of the virus and social-distancing, self-isolation and maintenance of hand hygiene remain the only potent weapons to protect oneself from getting infected.
(With inputs from IANS)