"Noise was unbearable to my ears"- Yash Thakur opens up on making IPL debut in Chepauk, talks about MS Dhoni's aura [Exclusive]

Punjab Kings (PBKS) fast bowler Yash Thakur recently narrated a story from his debut IPL match featuring MS Dhoni. Thakur made his first IPL appearance for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) against the Chennai Super Kings back in April 2023.

In an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda on the sidelines of IPL 2025, Yash Thakur opened up on his experience of playing at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. It was the first IPL match of his career, and the youngster could not bear the noise of the crowd when MS Dhoni came out to bat.

Dhoni smashed 12 runs off just three balls in that game, and the fans in Chennai went berserk. Sharing the experience, Thakur said:

"I want to tell a story from my debut IPL match. It was against Chennai Super Kings in Chennai. In that game, when MS Dhoni came to bat, the loudness of the crowd and the noise was unbearable to my ears. If someone is standing just 10 meters away from you and telling you something, you won't be able to listen to that. I was awestruck."

Soon after the match, Thakur met MS Dhoni and clicked a picture with him. He shared the photo on his official Instagram profile as well and wrote:

"No words to describe this man," with a fire emoji.

"I have found it difficult to bowl against him"- Yash Thakur names Abhishek Sharma as the most challenging batter to bowl to

During the same chat, Yash Thakur was asked to name the batter whom he felt was the most dangerous to bowl against in IPL right now. After thinking a bit, Thakur took the name of Sunrisers Hyderabad opener Abhishek Sharma and said:

"I'd say Abhishek Sharma. I have found it difficult to bowl against him. I'll very cautious about him. I'll go with a better plan against him this time."

Thakur has moved from LSG to Punjab Kings this year. PBKS have appointed Shreyas Iyer as their new captain, and they started their new season with a win against the Gujarat Titans on March 25. When asked to share his experience of being a team under Iyer's captaincy, Thakur responded:

"I am very excited to play under him. He has won multiple trophies. I wish he leads Punjab to their 1st trophy and we all celebrate together."

Punjab Kings will head to Lucknow soon for their next IPL 2025 fixture against Lucknow Super Giants. The match will be played on April 1.