“That is what I think initially he was trying to do. And then I never thought he was out of shape even on the first day. So, I think obviously he is special – he’s done it for so many years.
“I want to enjoy it,” he said at the launch of one of his apps last month, “how I did as a child when I was in school. When I lived in a colony, 4 o’clock (in the afternoon) was sports time, so we’ll go and play cricket more often than not. But if the weather doesn’t permit, we used to play football. I want to play with the same kind of innocence (but it is) easier said than done.”
CSK are enjoying the benefits of that. “I mean everyday we get to see him,” Gaikwad said. “Obviously, it inspires [us] a lot. A lot of new players have joined the team and sometimes they, as professional cricketers, struggle to strike the ball as good as he is striking it right now.
“So, definitely it inspires a lot of us including myself, including everyone from the group. So, whatever he is doing at the age of 43, I think it is remarkable. It is really commendable.
“And definitely, he will be looking to contribute in the best way he can. But I mean we have certain strengths that we have been following since last two years. So, I think nothing much really changes and hopefully he will continue to deliver those crucial knocks for us.”
CSK are known to stick to a set formula, especially when playing at home, and now their XI is likely to include three high quality spinners.
“When you have someone like [R] Ashwin and [Ravindra] Jadeja and we have Noor [Ahmed]. I think we always wanted someone in our bowling department who can be an aggressive bowler, who can come in and take wickets at regular intervals. And there were very few in the auction pool. So, we wanted to get the best whoever is available, and I think Noor is right up there. So, hopefully if conditions suit us, definitely he will be a great threat for opposition.”
“I never thought he was out of shape even on the first day. So, I think obviously he is special – he’s done it for so many years. Everyday we get to see him. It inspires [us] a lot.”
Ruturaj Gaikwad on MS Dhoni
“He [Pathirana] is definitely in a good shape and we had a good look at him in the practice game that we had,” Gaikwad said. “But what this year we have done in the options as well, I think we have got very good fast bowlers as back-ups.
“We have Mukesh [Choudhary] who is bowling really well. We have Khaleel [Ahmed] as well, who is right up there in the Indian team. Anshul Kamboj has done really well in the domestic circuit. Gurjapneet [Singh] is there. [Kamlesh] Nagarkoti is there, who really impressed me in the pre-season. So, we have a good set of fast bowlers this year. We have [Nathan] Ellis as well. So, I think I am not really worried about that back-up option. But it is always good to have Pathirana in the team. But as I said, I am not really worried about if he is there or not.”
