Exclusive - IPL 2022: When MS Dhoni hit the winning 6 in the WC final I decided I would aim to play for the country too someday, grateful I am playing under Dhoni's leadership, says Mukesh Choudhary

Deepak Chahar was ruled out of IPL 2022 with an injury, the four-time champions were looking for a suitable replacement for the star pacer. CSK threw that challenge towards Maharashtra's left-arm pacer Mukesh Choudhary, who has played 13 First Class matches so far. The 25-year-old made his IPL debut against the Lucknow Super Giants and went wicketless, conceding 39 runs. In the next 4 matches, Choudhary claimed 4 wickets (one wicket per match). It wasn't a fairytale start. He didn't just leak runs, he had some slip-ups while fielding too. CSK skipper MS Dhoni, who is known for his calmness on the field, knew Choudhary lacked confidence but was gaining much needed match practice and experience. Dhoni decided to give the 25 year old, who has the ability to swing the ball, one more chance and gave him a pep talk ahead of the clash vs the Mumbai Indians - and Choudhary delivered in style.

(ANI Photo/ IPL Twitter)Choudhary, who was part of the CSK camp last season as a net bowler and was bought by CSK in the last player auction for his base price of Rs 20 lakh, showed Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Dewald Brevis the way to the pavilion. He opened the attack for CSK with the ball and got rid of Rohit off the second ball of the match with a length-ball inswinger. He, then, brought Ishan Kishan down to his knees by castling him with a toe-crushing yorker to give CSK a flying start.

(Sportzpics for IPL/PTI Photo)Choudhary didn't stop there. After taking 2 wickets (Rohit and Ishan) in his first over, he returned in his next over having noticed how Dewald Brevis, also known as Baby ABD, was coming down the track. He shortened his length and rushed the South African into a shot and the ball ended up in MS Dhoni's gloves, behind