“Feels like I’m finally going back home,” says Mohit Sharma on being bought by CSK

Mohit Sharma on being bought by CSK: The Indian fast bowler sounded of utter joy after being bought by IPL Champions Chennai Super Kings.

India fast bowler Mohit Sharma sounded of utter joy after being bought by IPL Champions Chennai Super Kings in the recently concluded auction.

The primary reason behind Sharma’s joy is the fact that his career started in its real sense during his maiden stint in the IPL for CSK. Having played for Haryana in the Ranji Trophy, Sharma was bought in the IPL auction in 2013.

Consistent performances in pressure situations under the captaincy of the then India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni saw Sharma knocking the doors of the Indian team. Having played 26 ODIs and eight T20Is for India, Sharma eventually faded away from the national scene.

In an interview with Cricketnext, Sharma expressed relief at being picked by CSK, saying that it is a sort of homecoming for him. “It feels like I am finally going back home. I cannot explain in words what it feels like going back to Chennai. Everything that I have received in my life is from Chennai. I have played all my cricket here,” Sharma was quoted as saying.

Sharma gave the impression of being related to not just the players but the people of the city at an emotional level. “Coming back to CSK, it is that kind of feeling that you might travel the whole world, but eventually you do have to come home and that is where you where you get maximum peace.

“The emotional connect with the Chennai staff, the Chennai people, the management is just unparallel. That kind of culture is very tough to develop but CSK has managed to do that quite early,” he said.

Having made his IPL and T20I debut under Dhoni, Sharma said that the 37-year old cricketer is a father figure to him. The 30-year old pacer followed it up with massive praise for Dhoni, who till date is the captain of CSK.

“Mahendra Singh Dhoni is not just like my elder brother, he is a father figure to me. If I tell you that on a cricketing field, he is the one who has taught me how to walk, it won’t be wrong.

“Not just on the field, even off the field, the kind of ways he has helped me is immense. I try to somehow follow his footsteps and become even a tiny fragment of the kind of man he is. It is like a kid will always admire his father – that is how much I look up to him.

“And it is not that he won’t scold you. If you have bowled to a plan and then been carted all around the park, he won’t say much, but if you do not follow a plan he will bash you up left, right and center just like anyone elderly in your household does. But irrespective, he will back you 100% each time,” he added.

After CSK got banned for a couple of years from the tournament, Sharma was bought by Kings XI Punjab. In 37 matches for KXIP, Sharma picked up 33 wickets at an average of 34.51 and an economy rate of 9.19. On the contrary, his 68 wickets in 57 matches for CSK had come at an average of 22.48 and an economy rate of 7.94.

The numbers in themselves signify what the three-time IPL champions means to Sharma. After being dropped from the national team, Sharma’s performance has suffered in the domestic circuit as well.

With him back in an environment which saw rising to the peak, he would be hoping to put on display a replica of his past performances to press a case for the national side. Talking about his skills, Sharma laid emphasis on execution over anything in a bid to gain success.

“I feel variations are one such art which you have to consistently work upon. If out of the ordinary you develop something it is different, but I think the variations that I have in my armory if I can only build on that and sharpen it, I personally feel it will help me much more. To be honest, the variations don’t matter, what matters is when to use them and how well you execute them,” he concluded.

With Super Kings showing immense trust in him by buying him for INR 5 crore, Sharma would be looking to payback to his franchise by the means of performance with the ball.

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