The same calm, the same confidence, the brute force, the fit of the gloves, the brush of the thumb on the visor, the wry smile – it all showed on Friday when MS Dhoni hit the nets in the first practice session of Chennai Super Kings in Dubai before IPL 2020.
Dhoni faced players like Piyush Chawla, Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur on Friday and looked quite comfortable against the pace and spin. (Total IPL Coverage 2020)
The CSK captain treated most of the deliveries with respect, showing the full face of the bat to the closers and trying to work the ball against the spinners, but there was a shot at Piyush Chawla that was the highlight of the training session of the CSK.
It had Dhoni written all over it. Chawla launched a flying delivery, Dhoni leapt down the lane and hit it cleanly directly on the back of the bowler’s head for a max.
CSK CEO Kashi Viswanathan had previously said that Dhoni was in very good contact at the five-day camp in Chennai before leaving for Dubai and if the first day of the network session in Dubai was anything then there could be many Dhoni fireworks. when the IPL begins on September 19.
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Former Australian all-rounder Shane Watson was another who looked very impressive in the net session.
CSK was the last franchise to hit the nets after getting through the final rounds of Covid-19 testing. Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and all other Chennai Super Kings (CSK) players, except for the Covid-19 affected duo of Deepak Chahar and Ruturaj Gaikwad, began training on Friday.
With Deepak and Ruturaj testing positive last week along with 11 members of the CSK contingent, the team was forced to delay their training plan after completing the six-day quarantine, including three tests, upon arrival on August 21.
The coronavirus-free players tested negative in Thursday’s additional round of testing, clearing the way to begin training.
With the retirement of veteran players like Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh for personal reasons, Dhoni would expect players like Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav and Ravindra Jadeja to rise to the occasion for CSK to pursue their fourth title.
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