New Delhi: After his absence from any form of cricket for more than a year, MS Dhoni arrived in the Chennai Super Kings camp to kickstart his practice season for the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League. However, Dhoni left many surprised including former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan.
On Monday (September 7) CSK shared a video where Dhoni was seen keeping wickets as part of his training drill and the reason behind it, Pathan reckons, could be due to his absence from cricket in over a year.
“We have seen a new visual where we have seen MS Dhoni keeping the wickets. This never happens, this is something new for me because I have played cricket for so many years with him, whether it is for the Indian team or in the league with CSK, I have never seen him keeping wickets,” Pathan said.
“So this is because he has not played cricket for a long time. I guess there was some leg-spinner bowling, so he may be trying to check the new bowlers but it is good to see that he is doing keeping during practice. Absolutely, this had to happen. And these are good visuals because there has been some disruption in Chennai Super Kings after the withdrawal of two players with Suresh Raina coming back and Harbhajan Singh not playing,” the left-hander added.
“So, it is good news that practice has started and it is not a surprise that fans have reached there to see MS Dhoni. This has is happening for so many years and it is not a shock that it is happening now also. COVID is there but still, fans have reached there to watch MS Dhoni.”
Dhoni’s fans are eagerly waiting to see their favorite player in action. Dhoni last played any form of cricket in July, last year – the semifinal of the World Cup against New Zealand. He will be next seen in IPL 2020 which will be played from September 19 to November 10 in the UAE. CSK will be taking on Mumbai Indians in the opening match on September 19.
