‘Always Pressure Bowling to Mahi Bhai’: The Shocking Admission That Reveals MS Dhoni’s IPL Mind Games

India pacer Tushar Deshpande still remembers how he felt when he got nervous as the ball had been passed to him to replace MS Dhoni, during an IPL match between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals. When Dhoni and Shivam Dube were at the crease, the Mumbai quick knew that he was requested to deliver in high-pressure situations.

Dhoni’s Presence Brings Pressure in IPL Overs

Deshpande bowled the second last over on a level Delhi track and he succeeded in keeping Dhoni and Dube silent. He allowed just six runs among them three to Dhoni in the first ever official match against the great finisher.

“(Got) a lot of confidence from that over. It’s always pressure bowling to Mahi bhai because he’s the best finisher in the world. I was kind of trying to impress him and just wanted to bowl my best ball to him. Before last season, I had never bowled to him in an official game,” Deshpande told ESPNcricinfo.

Not only did the over increase his confidence but it also provided him with a time to enjoy. Not many bowlers have come out unscathed whenever Dhoni was in the temper and Deshpande had felt he had stood up against one of the hardest to deal with in the entire history of IPL.

Deshpande’s Road Back After Injury

The 29-year-old pacer finished with ten games with nine wickets in IPL 2025. But it was not smooth sailing as he came back to competitive cricket. He was ruled out of Mumbai knockout games by a serious ankle injury that kept him out of the whole domestic season in 2024-25.

In October last year he was operated and was expected to go through an extended rehabilitation process. His landing foot was injured and it was all the more important to recover it to his bowling rhythm. The wait was long but his hunger to be back on the field was increasing.

After this, Deshpande got some test in the Chennai conditions by bowling 18 overs in a Buchi Babu match against Haryana. That excursion made him believe that he could compete on a high level once again.

Dhoni Inspiration Fuels His Determination

Reflecting on his recovery, Deshpande shared, “I have put in a lot of effort, actually. It was a major ankle surgery and that being my landing foot, it was necessary that I get operated at that moment of time because coming ahead are a lot of international tours as well. I’m aiming for that, and I’m feeling good now for the start of the season.”

The difficulty of bowling Dhoni has remained in his mind, and this has challenged him to take his game high. Deshpande is sure that such moments determine the development of a bowler and precondition his transition to bigger stages.

Test Cricket Dream Still Alive

Although IPL performances have made him confident, Deshpande is not confused about his long-term vision. His final ambition is to wear the whites to India and to play Test cricket. Now however, he is concerned with keeping fit and consistent in Mumbai.

“The aspiration is always to play Test cricket for India, but I’m taking one match at a time, one day at a point, and just following a good process and keeping myself fit because I’ve lost considerable time off the game last year. So just keeping myself fit so I can again hit the hard yards for Mumbai,” he said.

The story of Deshpande is one of perseverance, patience, and the capability to find the drive in hard cases. And bowling to MS Dhoni perhaps once gave him the feeling that he could do it–so it may be the first step toward his larger goals in the years to come.

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