Ranji Trophy: Andhra’s Shaik Rasheed heeds Dhoni’s recommendation of not occupied with IPL, credit CSK camp for format-specific preparation

Shaik Rasheed is a classical strokeplayer. When he middles the ball, a loud ‘thud’ off the bat echoes throughout the bottom, and that occurs most of the time. He drives effectively, has management over his pulls, and performs the ball underneath the eyes.

“My game is to play along the ground. That’s my strong zone. I don’t hit the ball in the air,” Rasheed mentioned after scoring 32 off 80 balls for Andhra within the Ranji Trophy match towards Bengal in Visakhapatnam on Saturday.

Throughout his innings, the entire of the Andhra camp clapped after each ball he confronted. There was hooting and appreciation for the teenager enjoying his sixth First-Class recreation.

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“(Hanuma) Vihari bhai has been motivating me a lot. I have been talking to KS (Bharat) as well. I am learning from all these senior players,” he instructed  Sportstar.

The 19-year-old grabbed eyeballs after scoring 94 within the 2022 ICC U-19 World Cup semifinal towards Australia. He went on to make his debut for Andhra in the identical yr. His potential was such that Chennai Super Kings (CSK) too didn’t hesitate to choose him in its 2023 squad.

For Guntur boy Rasheed, CSK captain MS Dhoni isn’t solely his idol however now his mentor as effectively. “I talk to Dhoni bhai and he asks me to play my game by understanding it first and then practice it.”

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Rasheed is studying and gaining expertise on the job. He says, “My preparation was not correct earlier. I used to practice for all formats similarly. After going there (CSK camp) I understood that I have to prepare differently for each format.”

Rasheed has been retained by CSK for the upcoming IPL 2024 season, however the teenager says he “wasn’t expecting it”, and going by what Dhoni suggested him, he’s not occupied with it as effectively. 

“If I’m playing Ranji Trophy then I only think about Ranji Trophy. That’s what Mahi-bhai told me, ‘Whatever you’re playing now, just think about. Don’t think about the past and future.’”