As the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) prepared to take on the Gujarat Titans at Chepauk, a familiar question was ringing in the air. Will MS Dhoni take the field on Sunday? Having been sidelined for two weeks at the start of the tournament due to a calf injury, the former captain had been undergoing rehab and, after successfully completing the fitness test, even joined the squad for their away trips to Hyderabad and Mumbai this week, but didn’t start the matches with the official word from the CSK camp being that he is still on the road to recovery. But The Indian Express understands that Dhoni is fit and is only delaying his comeback because he doesn’t want to disturb a combination that now appears settled.
On Saturday, head coach Stephen Fleming still maintained that Dhoni is being closely watched. “He’s progressing well. He’s on the road to recovery and doing everything that’s being asked of him,” Fleming said without revealing much about when Dhoni is expected to take the field.
However, sources in the know revealed that the 44-year-old has regained full fitness but is reluctant to take the spot of a youngster and disturb the combination in the last couple of fixtures. Despite a stuttering start to the season, CSK have regrouped well and head into their match against the Gujarat Titans on Sunday afternoon on the back of a 103-run win over the Mumbai Indians.
Sitting in fifth spot in the table, they are still in with a shot of making the play-offs. If they win five of the next seven matches, they have a chance to finish in the top four, boosted by a positive net run-rate.
At this critical juncture, when the pieces of the puzzle are falling in place, Dhoni is understood to have told the team management not to disturb the combination.
Dhoni was expected to take the field at the Wankhede, especially after having a full-fledged practice session on the eve of the game. However, as has been the norm through the season, he didn’t turn up at the venue with Kartik Sharma slotting in the middle-order.
During that game, CSK’s batting coach Mike Hussey had given a status update on Dhoni. “He is progressing really well. He has been really pushing hard to get back as quick as he possibly can. I know all the fans would like to see Dhoni out there playing as well. We are hopeful, maybe in the coming few games. Even we want him as quickly as he possibly can as well. But obviously, he needs to be closer to 100 percent fit, ready to give his best. He has been batting really well in the nets, he looks good in the nets, just need him running hard between the wickets too,” he said.
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With Kartik, a batsman bought for Rs 14.2 crore, yet to show his full potential, there is a scope for CSK to include Dhoni against Gujarat, but The Indian Express understands that the decision lies completely with the former captain. On Saturday, Dhoni indulged in a bit of running, showing no discomfort. Having limited himself to taking throwdowns during the rehabilitation phase, in Mumbai, Dhoni faced the bowlers at the nets and even indulged in wicket-keeping drills.
That Dhoni is reluctant to change the combination stems from how Sanju Samson has transitioned himself behind the stumps. “I’m pretty sure he will be behind the stumps,” Hussey said when asked if Dhoni would keep wickets. “The biggest thing is he has had a calf injury, so just the running and later in the innings when he comes in, having to scamper the ones and twos, we just need to make sure the calf is strong to withstand that. But certainly from a skill perspective, we know what he can do as keeper, and he has been batting well. So it is about getting confidence in the calf,” he added.
