All the credit of my success goes to MS Dhoni: Kedar Jadhav

Kedar Jadhav made his international debut in 2014 in an ODI against Sri Lanka. But he was regular in the team only since 2017 as the sixth bowling option and the number six batter when India had started to back the wrist spinners. His slingy bowling action put many batsmen in trouble and his knack of breaking crucial partnerships sealed his place in the team. However, Jadhav has credited the former India skipper MS Dhoni for all the success in his career.

He has played 73 One-Day Internationals thus far alongside nine T20Is. The short statured attacking batsman from Maharashtra averages 42 with the bat in the 50-over format scoring 1389 runs with a couple of centuries and six half-centuries. He has also picked 27 wickets with the ball performing the role of a part-time bowler perfectly.

On Thursday, Kedar Jadhav went live on Instagram with the CSK where he picked MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar as two of his favourites cricketers. But he lamented the fact for not being able to play with the latter at the highest level. “Growing up, my favourite player was always Sachin Tendulkar. But I always regret that I could not play with him for India,” he said.

There was a different aura about Mahi bhai, says Kedar Jadhav

While speaking about MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav recalled how awestruck he was to meet the wicketkeeper-batsman for the first time. He shed light on how his impression was of Dhoni before seeing him and how he thought the skipper would be strict as he is the leader of the pack.

“When I met Mahi bhai, my impression was that he’s India‘s captain and he’s strict. There was this different aura about him, and I used to get intimidated by Dhoni. But after meeting him and spending time with him, I can’t see him in a different way, now Dhoni is my favourite,” Jadhav added.

He plays for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) under Dhoni’s captaincy in the IPL and has also credited the latter for all his success in his career. Kedar Jadhav has revealed that it was MS Dhoni who backed him to the hilt during the early part of his career and was able to survive at the international level only because of him.

“With my potential, depending on my ability, I thought I would play only around 20 ODIs. However, all the credit for my success goes to MS Dhoni. He gave me that confidence to survive in that level and helped me express myself. When I see Dhoni, I get confidence and there’s nothing similar to that,” the 35-year-old further said.