Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni has started preparations for the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The 41-year-old wicket-keeper batsman was recently seen batting in the nets and the video of the same has gone viral on social media. It is rumored that this could be Dhoni’s last tournament as a professional cricketer and thus, he would be eyeing to match Mumbai’s record of five IPL trophies as Chennai Super Kings have won four titles so far.
Interestingly, even though the cash-rich league is at least two months away, they have already started preparing to excel in the tournament. Notably, the cricketer announced his retirement from international cricket on August 15, 2020. He played his last match for India in the ODI World Cup 2019, where the Men in Blue lost to New Zealand in the semi-finals. Of the competition
MS Dhoni Practicing in the Nets ahead of IPL 2023!!#M S Dhoni , #IPL2023 , #WhistlePodu pic.twitter.com/Ai1FGVosGP
– Nitish MSDian 🦁 (@thebrainofmsd) January 19, 2023
Coming back to the glamorous league, the two-time World Cup winner has failed to fire with the bat in the last three editions of the tournament. He has shown glimpses of his class but consistency has been a big problem. It was also observed that the middle order batsman promoted other cricketers ahead of him as he could not contribute much with the bat.
Overall, ‘Captain Cool’ has scored 4978 runs in 234 matches played in the Indian Premier League. Apart from Chennai, the cricketer has also played for Rising Pune Supergiants in the 9th and 10th editions of the tournament. He was appointed as the captain in the 9th edition but played under Steve Smith in the next season.
After winning the title in the 14th edition of the tournament under Dhoni’s leadership, Chennai Super Kings failed to live up to expectations in the previous edition of the IPL. They finished ninth in the points table and have made some strong signings for the upcoming season.
They released players such as Chris Jordan and Narayan Jagadeesan, while star all-rounder Dwayne Bravo retired from the league. CSK has signed players like Ajinkya Rahane, Ben Stokes and Kyle Jamieson ahead of IPL 2023.
