Dhoni offers a pragmatic advice to CSK rookie Prashant

M.S. Dhoni advises CSK rookie Prashant Veer to save money wisely as he navigates his first IPL experience.

M.S. Dhoni’s first piece of advice to Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) ₹14.20 crore recruit Prashant Veer was not about field placements or finishing games. It was about money.

Prashant revealed that the CSK legend’s early counsel was refreshingly practical. “Right now,We haven’t spoken much about cricket. He told me to save my money and not spend it unnecessarily,” Prashant said with a smile after the inauguration of the 12th Pavit Singh Nayar Memorial All India inter-collegiate T20 tournament at the Guru Nanak College here on Monday.

For the 20-year-old, the initial days in the camp have been about soaking in the “good environment” and learning from his “very supportive” teammates. The transition into the IPL ecosystem has been an eye-opener as well. “It’s my first IPL, so I have never had practice sessions like this before. The environment and the intensity here are different, so it takes a little time to mingle and get used to it,” he said.

The left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder also spoke about being compared with Ravindra Jadeja and insisted he was focused only on his own game. “First of all, I have to do what I know — what I have practised and what brought me here. If I think that I have to take his place, then there will be a lot of pressure because what he has done for the franchise or the Indian team is not easy to do. Right now, I’m just focusing on my game,” he said.

The Uttar Pradesh player credited a consistent domestic season for his rise. “You cannot say one particular tournament decides your career. Throughout the domestic season of five or six months, you have to perform. This season, I was the Player-of-the-Tournament in the u-23 competition (BCCI men’s u-23 State-A One-Day Trophy) and the Emerging Player in UPT20. The turning point, according to me, was that I shuttled between Mumbai and Kolkata to play both the State-A Trophy and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.”

Wicketkeeper-batter Kartik Sharma, meanwhile, said his aim was to imbibe Dhoni’s finishing ability and tactical understanding. “I want to learn how to finish matches and improve game awareness,” he said.