‘Dhoni was hitting sixes like he was 23’:GT’s Kumar Kushagra in awe of CSK great’s ‘mindset’; speaks on his IPL 2026 prep

MS Dhoni continues to be one of the most-talked-about cricket figures, even after six years of his retirement from the international arena. At 44, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) legend would be heading into a 19th IPL season. At the start of almost every IPL edition, speculations run rife about whether it will be the last time fans get to see Dhoni in action. But Kumar Kushagra feels that the cricket legend still has the power and mindset to continue to perform at the elite level. Kushagra was the third-highest run-scorer in Jharkhand’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy-winning campaign last year and was retained by the Gujarat Titans prior to the auction. Bhaskar English caught up with him in an exclusive interaction. ‘Dhoni was hitting sixes like it was 23’ Kushagra shared that he watched Dhoni hitting big sixes while training in Ranchi before the IPL. “I saw Dhoni practice in Ranchi. So, I saw that he is hitting like the sixes that he was hitting when he was 23, 25, 24. So, like he still has that power and that mindset to play at this level,” he said. The Jharkhand youngster reckons that had he been in the CSK dressing room, he would have definitely wanted Dhoni to continue playing in the IPL. “But if he is batting against us (Gujarat Titans), then we should just get him out as soon as possible,” he said. Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings will face off in the second phase of the IPL, which will start from 13 April onwards. The schedule for the first phase (28 March to 12 April) was announced a few days ago. ‘Working on myself, not expecting anything’ Kushagra’s performance with the bat was among the pivotal reasons behind Jharkhand winning a maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last year. The right-handed wicketkeeper-batter played 10 games where he scored 422 runs with a highest score of 86*. Kushagra registered an impressive strike rate of 161.88 and scored four fifties in the season. When asked about what was his preparation for the upcoming IPL, Kushagra shared that he hasn’t set any expectations for himself while working hard on his skills. The 21-year-old joined the Gujarat Titans’ camp on 14 March. GT announced his and other players’ arrivals on social media. “From the expectation part, I’m not expecting anything. I’m just working on myself and just trying to be my best version of myself. And then my aim, if you’ll ask my aim, will definitely be to win the IPL trophy,” he said. “I’ll just try to keep the form that I was having in the SMAT and then this Vijay Hazare Trophy and the Ranji Trophy. So, that’s the goal to just win the trophy and just give my best performance over there (in the IPL),” Kushagra added. The youngster further shared that he was working on his mindset and is readying himself to win games even if he gets an opportunity as an ‘Impact Player.’ “So, basically, while batting, I am just mostly working on my mindset to just shut the outer noise and then just focus on my batting in the nets or in the match,” he said. “And just try to win the matches in any situation where I am. And like if I am just playing as an Impact Player, I will just try to win games over there,” added the youngster. Kushagra not looking at first-team wicketkeeping spot as competition Gujarat Titans have assembled a strong squad at last year’s auction. The 2022 champions have quite a few wicketkeeping options and Kushagra is not necessarily viewing the first-team spot behind the stumps as a competition. Jos Buttler, acquired by the Gujarat Titans in 2024, kept wickets for the team. “So, this is not a competition, but if you’ll see as a team’s perspective that the best keeper will play over there,” Kushagra said. The youngster further explained his thought process. “If I’m the best keeper, they’ll let me play because I have been performing very well in the last season in the Syed Mushtaq Ali, in the Vijay Hazare and in the Ranji Trophy. So, if they see enough potential in me that I can win matches for them, they will just give me a chance or like a match to play over there. And if I’ll be capable of that, then I’ll perform over there,” he shared. Also read: BCCI names Gill, Mandhana as Cricketers of the Year: India’s 5 ICC-trophy winning teams honoured at Naman Awards ‘Would love to face Trent Boult’ While speaking on the upcoming IPL, Kushagra added that he was looking forward to taking on Trent Boult. Boult has been one of the most consistent performers in the IPL, having taken 143 wickets in 120 matches with his best being 4/18. Boult will play for the Mumbai Indians in IPL 2026, having been signed by the five-time champions before last year. “So, if you will say that one bowler I would love to play, maybe it can be Trent Boult. I have seen him bowling, he can just bowl some tricky balls. But I think I can just whack him. So, let’s see,” he said. ‘Will try to win the IPL this time’ Gujarat Titans were one of the best teams in the IPL last season. The Shubman Gill-led outfit occupied a spot in the top half of the IPL 2025 points table for a good period of time before stuttering in the latter stages of the competition, finishing third and eventually being knocked out by the Mumbai Indians in the Eliminator. “To be honest, last year we had a very good team that would have won the IPL. But like I think last year we were working very, very hard. Even during the India-Pakistan war, we didn’t go back home. We were just practicing there in the Ahmedabad stadium,” he said while looking back on last year’s campaign. “So, I think last year we worked really, really hard. But unfortunately, with some mistakes, we didn’t win the IPL. So, we had that dream to win the IPL. But this year, we will just not leave it there. And we will try to win this IPL trophy,” Kushagra signed off.