CHENNAI: On his milestone 100th first-class appearance, Karnataka’s leg-spinning all-rounder Shreyas Gopal credited MS Dhoni with shaping his approach to leadership, reflecting on the former India skipper’s invaluable mentorship after stumps on Day 1 of the Duleep Trophy final on Sunday.
Gopal has spent the past two seasons in the Chennai Super Kings camp. While match opportunities were limited, the 33-year-old explained how closely observing and interacting with Dhoni transformed his understanding of the game.
“I was very grateful for my experience with CSK. The time that I spent with Mahi [MS Dhoni] bhai was pure gold for me. I took almost 90 to 100% of those learnings and transferred them into the Maharaja League,” Gopal told reporters after the day's play.
That influence paid immediate dividends when he captained the Mangaluru Dragons to the Maharaja Trophy title, defeating Hubli Tigers in the final. The leg-spinner revealed that much of his game management stemmed directly from those conversations.
“Most of it was tactical: the way he keeps the environment calm, how he speaks to the younger boys, how he handles situations, and how he reads the game,” he said. “I asked him so many questions over those two years and tried to implement that. I wouldn't say that was the sole reason we won, but definitely some of those moves I wouldn't have made if I hadn't had that experience with CSK.”
Marking his 100th first-class game against East Zone at Chepauk, Gopal admitted he never envisioned reaching such a longevity milestone when his career began.
“It's a very special achievement and I'm very grateful for this opportunity. But if you asked me 12 or 13 years ago whether I would have thought of this, no. At that time, the dream was simply to play the Ranji Trophy and seal my spot there,” he added.
The 33-year-old also revealed how he was told that ‘not too many leg-spinners’ played red-ball cricket too regularly, which motivated him to prove a point.
“I was told that there are not too many leg-spinners who have played upwards of 30, 40, 50 games—I think Karn [Sharma] has that. But I wanted to make a point and show that leg-spinners can play red-ball cricket and still be successful,” he said.
“So I did put a lot of work into my bowling. Batting was a little more gifted for me in the sense that I grew up as a batsman, so I had that natural ability. But bowling took a lot—I did bowl a lot of weeks, months, and years.”
So, how did the leg-spinner keep himself relevant in the day and age of finger spinners’ domination?
“I think just tactically trying to get a little better. Using the crease, understanding what the situation is and when to attack, when to defend. Most times it would come off; sometimes, like today, it is not going to come off.”
“But as long as you go in with a plan and try to achieve something with a goal, it at least gives you a sense of direction. If you just go there without a plan, most times you're not going to be aware of what's going to hit you.”