CSK team’s head coach Stephen Fleming revealed the reason behind MS Dhoni playing only short cameos for the team in the 2024 season of the Indian Premier League.
He pointed out that the legendary wicketkeeper-batter is still batting a knee injury and that’s why has not batted higher up the order despite being in brilliant form in the last few matches.
Batting against Lucknow, Dhoni’s cameo wowed fans as he slammed 3 boundaries and 2 huge sixes en route his 28* off just 9 deliveries. Fleming, while speaking in the post-match press conference, hailed Dhoni for doing inspirational things on the field at the age of 42 and said that he has been in fine form since CSK’s pre-season camp.
“It’s inspirational, isn’t it? His batting this year and even in pre-season training, has been very crisp, and the team is not surprised that he is doing what he is doing because his skill-level during the pre-season was very high, Fleming said in the post-match press conference.
HOW DHONI’S KNEE STRUGGLES SURFACED?
The CSK head coach was quick to point out that Dhoni has struggled with his knee injury. Fleming added that CSK need Dhoni to bat only for 2-3 overs in the game to create the desired impact, something that Dhoni has excelled in this season. Dhoni’s knee injury concerns surfaced during the last edition of the IPL where he was spotted limping after almost every game. The legendary former skipper got knee surgery done after the 2023 edition of the tournament and did not play any professional cricket before this year’s tournament.
“He obviously had a problem with his knee, and he is still recovering from that, which is why there is only certain amount of balls against which he can function well. He almost seems for longer as we do, but there is time about the right, and we need him for the tournament and in the 2-3 over cameo, he is owning that space,” Stephen Fleming said after the match against Lucknow.
Dhoni has got the crowd on their feet, wherever he has played, be it CSK’s in own fortress, or an away game like the one against LSG at the Ekana Stadium. The fans have been left in a frenzy by vintage Dhoni’s finishing skills.
Fleming wanted CSK’s top order batters to step up and not be entirely dependent on Dhoni’s blitz.
“So it’s up to the batting unit to give that sort of a position, so he can push us over the top and he is doing that pretty much every time at the moment which is great to watch. And what an amazing atmosphere when he comes out and plays an entertainer, so its exhilarating,” Fleming further added.
In CSK’s last 2 matches against MI and LSG, Dhoni has scored a 4-ball 20 and a 9-ball 28. His brilliant finishes have proved to be game-changing for the team. During CSK’s match against LSG, it was Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja who propelled CSK to a fighting total of 176 runs. However, the KL Rahul-led side completed the chase with 8 wickets in hand.