'MS Dhoni's Aura Is Just...' - Curran Speaks About Experience Of Being Around MSD

At the IPL 2025 mega auction, Sam Curran was purchased by CSK for INR 2.4 crore but Curran is no stranger to the Chennai camp, having already spent two years with the franchise across 2020 & 2021. He played 15 games for the side in total across those two seasons, and was part of the side that won the title in 2021. 

Curran came into his own as a player across those two seasons, as just one year post that, he went on to win the Player of the Tournament award in the 2022 T20 World Cup. He shone as a bowler during his first stint with CSK and a lot of his success was down to the trust shown in him by the then-captain MS Dhoni. 

Everyone knows how Dhoni is as a player, on the field, but what does it feel like to share a dressing room with the former India skipper? Is he the same person off the field as he is on the field?

“It's just the aura of the guy. He is so easy to chat to and he is always calm. And he never seems to panic,” Curran said on the Sky Cricket Podcast.

“Even in the hotel, guys always talk about how he leaves his room open. Guys go and play FIFA with him, chat cricket and stuff like that. He obviously can't leave the hotel much because he just gets absolutely mobbed.”

Curran further spoke about Dhoni the captain and how he chooses to never complicate things. One of Dhoni’s quirks, Curran revealed, is to not do many meetings related to games.

“The calmness he had [stood out]. He doesn’t do many meetings, it’s almost the subtle things at training. He’ll tell you ‘the pitch will do this, so you just have to do this’. Being a bowler, sometimes you can fall into traps. So the calmness the captain gives you really helps,” Curran revealed. 

Dhoni is still part of CSK’s set-up, but come IPL 2025, Curran will be playing under the captaincy of Ruturaj Gaikwad.