Ruling the cricketing world for the past 18 years, Indian veteran MS Dhoni reminded everyone that he is still one of the sharpest cricketing minds going around after his side Chennai Super Kings won the 2021 Indian Premier League (2021) under his leadership.
Considered one of the greatest finishers in limited-overs cricket, the wicketkeeper-batter appeared in 350 ODIs. The batter has piled up more than 10,000 at an average of 50.57 with 10 centuries and 73 half centuries. Dhoni also represented India in 98 T20Is scoring 1617 runs at 37.60. Talking about his IPL career, the 40-year old has played 220 matches in the tournament scoring 4746 runs at an average of almost 40. With years of experience, the veteran cricketer has shared dressing room with several known and unknown players.
Here’s a list of five players you might not know were once MS Dhoni’s teammates:
1. Mitchell Marsh (Rising Pune Supergiant)
Australian allrounder Mitchell Marsh was signed by Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) ahead of 2016 Indian Premier League (IPL). The 26-year old allrounder represented Dhoni led side in three matches, but did not had anything to show in his numbers. Marsh could only manage to score seven runs with the bat. With ball, the pacer scalped four wickets in three matches he played.
The 26-year-old allrounder was signed again by the franchise in the IPL auction for $1 million. However, he was ruled out of the tenth edition owing to a shoulder injury. As Marsh s replacement, the franchise have roped in South Africa leg-spinner Imran Tahir into the squad.
However, skipper MS Dhoni did not miss the services of Australian allrounder as they went on reach the final match of IPL 2017 against Mumbai Indians. The franchise lost the final by a bare margin of one run. Still, it was a big improvement for the team as they finished seventh in the league table in the previous edition.
2. Scott Boland (Rising Pune Supergiant)
Second on the list is another Australian player Scott Boland. The 32-year old pacer shared the dressing room with Dhoni in IPL 2016 while playing for Rising Pune Supergiant. Boland made his debut for the franchise playing against the Mumbai Indians.
Overall, he has played only two games in the biggest cricketing league in the world taking two wickets while bowling a total of seven overs. The pacer had a strike rate of 21 while bowling at a decent economy of 7.71. However after representing the franchise for two matches, the pacer was dropped from the squad due to tactical reasons.
In his international career so far, the 32-year old has played a total of 20 matches including all three formats and has taken 37 wickets in the process. Australian pacer recently grabbed the headlines after his memorable debut against England in The Ashes 2021/22.
3. Justin Kemp (Chennai Super Kings)
South African allrounder Justin Kemp was made his IPL debut in 2010 for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Kemp was the part of title winning CSK camp after they defeated Mumbai Indians by 22 runs at DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai. However, the 44-year old allrounder was not the part of playing XI in that all important match.
Kemp, the South African allrounder represented CSK in five matches during the season. The right-handed batter managed to score only 26 runs that too at a strike rate of 108.33 for his side. With the ball, Kemp picked up a three-wicket haul against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) but did not managed to take wickets in other matches. Kemp never played in the league after 2010.
Talking about his career while playing for South Africa. Kemp represented his country at 85 ODI matches and scored a total of 1512 runs with an average of 31.5. Talking about his bowling, the right-arm bowler took 32 wickets in his 50-over career.
4. Scott Styris (Chennai Super Kings)
New Zealand veteran batting allrounder Scott Styris started his IPL career while playing for Deccan Chargers but retired from the tournament after playing for the Chennai Super Kings. The yellow army signed him for the 2011 season for the price of $200,000 at the IPL auction.
The 46-year old allrounder managed to play only two matches for the side and could not make much of an impact. In two matches, Styris only scored five runs and remained wicketless for the team. Styris was excluded from the playing XI after playing two matches. CSK on the other hand went on win their second successive IPL trophy after beating Royal Challengers Bangalore in the final match by a comprehensive margin of 58 runs.
Talking about Styris international career, the 46-year old represented New Zealand in 248 matches including all three formats of the game. The batter scored a total of 6,647 runs and also scalped a total of 175 wickets in his prolific career.
5. Nuwan Kulasekara (Chennai Super Kings)
Sri Lanka veteran pacer Nuwan Kulasekara was a part of the yellow army in IPL 2012 season. The right-arm pacer was bagged by the franchise at a cost of INR 75 lakh during the auction. However, the 39-year old pacer did not managed to leave a mark with his performances.
The right arm pacer has played a total of five matches in 2012 season and bowled a total of 14 overs for the franchise. Kulasekara managed to scalp only five wickets at an strike rate of 21. However, he 39-year old gave runs at a decent economy of 6.71. In one of the matches out of 5, he was not even allowed to bowl a single over by the team. Moreover, he was dropped by the franchise in the next season.
Talking about his international career, Kulasekara played a total of 263 matches including all three formats and ended with an impressive figure of 313 wickets. The 37-year-old was an integral part of the Sri Lanka team that won the T20 World Cup in 2014.
