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3 Australian Test cricketers who have played under MS Dhoni in IPL
Follow UsOver the years, Dhoni has had many Australian cricketers play under him in the IPL, for both CSK and RPSG
Australia and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have had a very mutually profitable relationship. CSK has recruited some top talents from Down Under.
While Matthew Hayden, Shane Watson, and Michael Hussey are the first CSK Aussies to come to mind, over the years, some really strong pacers like Doug Bollinger, Josh Hazlewood, etc., from Australia have represented CSK in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Among these, some special ones have gone on to play Test cricket for Australia and even excel at that stage. While how much CSK impacted them can’t be quantified, there’s one person who every single cricketer has reserved a lot of praise - MS Dhoni.
Also Read: 4 players MS Dhoni has never hit a six against in IPL
Let’s see three such Australian Test cricketers who played under Dhoni:
Usman Khawaja
Khawaja, one of the best Test openers going around in the world in the last few years, hasn’t been a regular part of the IPL. However, he played for the now-non-existent Rising Pune Supergiants in 2016.
CSK didn’t participate in the IPL in 2016 and 2017, and Dhoni captained the side in 2016. That’s when Khawaja played six games in the IPL and scored 127 runs with a strike rate of 127 and an average of 21. Since then, however, he hasn't played the IPL.
Scott Boland
Boland wrecked the Indian batting order in the recently concluded Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT). However, not until so long ago, he was also an active white ball cricketer for Australia. Like Khawaja, who’s also now a Test specialist, Boland played under Dhoni in 2016 for RPSG. He played only two games, and picked two wickets at an average of 27 and economy of 7.71.
Ben Hilfenhaus
Hilfenhaus led Australian fast bowling in the years between the retirement of greats like Glenn McGrath until Mitch Johnson and Starc took over the reins.
As a result, he was sought after in the IPL as well. CSK bought him for $100,000, and he was their main bowler in the 2012 season. He picked 12 wickets at a superb average of just 17.33. Overall, he has played 17 games for CSK in the IPL under Dhoni and averages 21.77 in those games.
