Former Sri Lankan pacer Nuwan Kulasekara has heaped praise on the former Indian skipper MS Dhoni for not bringing up the topic of the ICC ODI World Cup 2011 final despite sharing the dressing room immediately after the mega event in the IPL 2011 season.
For the unversed, Dhoni smacked a six off Nuwan Kulasekara in the World Cup 2011 final at the iconic Wankhede Stadium to help India lift the silverware. The former pacer, who was part of the CSK camp in IPL 2011 and 2012, has revealed that Dhoni never spoke about that final.
Nuwan Kulasekara Praises MS Dhoni:
“I joined Chennai Super Kings immediately after the World Cup, but Dhoni never spoke about that final. That shows the kind of person he is. He is incredibly calm and always focused on the present. For him, the past is over. His only concern was winning the next game. That is something I really admired about him,” Nuwan Kulasekara told Rev Sportz
“In cricket, especially during the powerplay and the death overs, such things can happen to any bowler. I tried my best to dismiss him (Dhoni), but he still hit me for a six. The positive memory is that we came back and won the 2014 T20 World Cup similarly. That is how this beautiful game works,” he added.
Furthermore, Kulasekara also strolled down memory lane to recall his dropped catch of the former Indian batter and current head coach Gautam Gambhir, while he was batting in his 30s, which turned the game upside down.
“At one stage, we definitely believed we could win. I dropped an important catch off Gambhir, and naturally, there is regret. But these moments happen in big matches. Ben Stokes experienced something similar in the 2016 T20 World Cup final before going on to play a match-winning role in England’s 2019 World Cup triumph. These experiences are part of the game. I also believe the dew played a significant role in that final,” Kulasekara concluded.
