Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is nursing a knee injury, which is hindering his movement somewhat, said head coach Stephen Fleming after the four-time IPL champions lost a last-ball thriller to Rajasthan Royals by three runs.
Adding to the injury worries, CSK’s South African pace bowler Sisanda Magala too suffered a split webbing at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Wednesday night.
“He (Dhoni) is nursing a knee injury, which you can see in some of his movement, hindering him somewhat. His fitness has been professional. He comes in months before the tournament starts. He does some nets in Ranchi, but his main pre-season is a month before he comes to Chennai,” Fleming told reporters at the post-match press conference after CSK suffered their second defeat in four games this season.
Seamer Sandeep Sharma nailed a couple of perfect block-hole deliveries to earn a hard-fought victory for the Royals.
Chasing 176, Dhoni (32) and Ravindra Jadeja (25) were on course requiring 21 runs off the last over. CSK’s final score was 172/6 as Dhoni couldn’t end his 200th game for CSK in a manner he would have wanted to on home turf.
Fleming, though, expressed confidence that the former India captain will manage his injury well and will continue to lead the side.
“He works his way back into match form, and you can still see he is playing pretty well. So we always have confidence about how he manages himself. He always keeps himself up to speed,” said Fleming, allaying concerns about Dhoni’s fitness.
On Magala, who had to leave the field with a split webbing after bowling two overs, Fleming said, “For us again, it’s losing another player — that’s two games in a row — and we’re already pretty thin, so we’d like it (injuries) to stop.”
CSK’s list of injured players is growing by the day with England all-rounder Ben Stokes, bought for Rs 16.25 crore at the IPL auction, missing the game due to a heel injury, while pacer Deepak Chahar has been almost ruled out of IPL 2023 due to a hamstring injury he sustained during the match against Mumbai Indians.