Imran Tahir endears himself to Chennai and Super Kings
The leg-spinner who grabs eyeballs with his trademark celebration has taken to the Chennai Super Kings fan family like a duck to water.
Published : Apr 09, 2019 21:14 IST
While Mahendra Singh Dhoni tops the charts in Chennai and cricket, Chennai Super Kings' Imran Tahir is not far behind.
The leg-spinner who grabs eyeballs with his ebullient celebration routines after taking a wicket has taken to the Chennai Super Kings fan family like a duck to water.
Each time Tahir takes a wicket, the South African, his arms spread wide, his visage breaking into a radiant smile, his legs making light of his 40 years of age, sprints to the other end of the ground in delight and the celebration sends fans into a trance.
Tahir has the pace variations. He also has the ability to turn the ball both ways. The flipper, the drift that he creates is dangerous and that's what makes him lethal.
Against Kolkata Knight Riders on Tuesday evening, Tahir was clinical. He foxed Dinesh Karthik and Shubman Gill and made them look clueless.
He could have had Andre Russell early, but Harbhajan Singh misjudged a skier.
After taking Karthik's wickets, he went towards a section of the crowd and celebrated with the ' whistle podu ' gesture. The ' whistle podu ' is CSK's anthem and is the most popular song in the city during IPL times.
The leg-spinner wears his heart on his sleeve. "It's the passion and respect I have for the game. I don't take anything for granted. Whenever I am playing, I try to contribute for my team," Tahir said, after Chennai Super Kings beat Rajasthan Royals in Chennai, last week.