‘Holding Mahi Bhai’s bat was a surreal feeling’ – CSK’s Shaik Rasheed reveals his emotional bat story

Chennai Super Kings young batter Shaik Rasheed shared an emotional anecdote involving former Indian captain MS Dhoni’s bat.
In a video shared CSK, on their official Youtube channel, Shaik, who was a part of U19 World Cup 2022 squad revealed how he couldn’t buy a ‘Reebok’ bat that MS Dhoni used to play with and what it felt like to finally own one.
“When I was around eight years old, it was my birthday and I told my dad that I wanted a Reebok bat. It was Dhoni Bhai who used to use that bat and we didn’t have that much money that time. So we could not buy that bat. After that, for an entire day, I was just crying,” revealed Rasheed.
“I was a ball boy during one of the games where I saw someone use that Reebok bat and somehow I couldn’t control my emotions. I really wanted to play with that bat,” he added.

Earlier, Shaik who was picked CSK for 20 Lakhs in the IPL 2023 auctions revealed his first conversation with Dhoni and said that the latter asked him to perform to the best of his ability and that he advised him during his practice sessions.
“Mahi bhai said “Hi”. It was special for me. First I met him on the bus and then on the ground. Mahi Bhai told me, “Just do whatever you know.” He asked me to perform to my ability,” he said.

“After I finished the practice I learned how to prepare for the T20 format. When I was bowling, Mahi Bhai used to advise me on what I can do. And he would give suggestions after hitting the ball as well,” he added.