Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat against Gujarat Titans in their Indian Premier League match on Sunday, in what could potentially be his last match in the T20 league. Speaking to Ravi Shastri at the time of the toss, Dhoni answered some tricky questions around his physical well-being, ability to play cricket at the age of 43. While Shastri didn’t directly ask if this would be Dhoni’s final season in the IPL, the CSK icon decided to drop a hint himself.
“My body is surviving. Every year is a new challenge. It needs a lot of maintenance. It is the last stage of my career. Didn’t trouble me enough when I was playing international cricket,” Dhoni said after winning the toss and opting to bat first.
While Dhoni didn’t specifically say if he would return to play for CSK next season, he did admit to be in the final stage.
“It (pitch) looks nice and hard, think it will remain the same throughout the 40 overs. It’s quite hot, looks like a good track. It’s (his body) surviving. Every year is a new challenge. It needs a lot of maintenance. Didn’t trouble me enough when I was playing international cricket. Chennai is very nice after 3.30-4pm, this is a different heat, on the drier side. We are last in the table, we will still remain last, if win or lose. Need to enjoy our cricket. We have one change. Hooda is back for Ashwin. They are a good side, they play authentic cricket. Need to bowl tight lines, otherwise the batters will punish you,” when asked about the team and the pitch, Dhoni revealed that Deepak Hooda has come in for Ravichandran Ashwin.
A victory is crucial in this contest for GT, who have 18 points from 13 matches so far with nine wins, as it will help them ensure a top-two finish for the IPL playoffs.
For CSK, it will be yet another opportunity to test the young talent.
Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Sherfane Rutherford, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Gerald Coetzee, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Mohammed Siraj, Arshad Khan, Prasidh Krishna.
Chennai Super Kings: Ayush Mhatre, Devon Conway, Urvil Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Deepak Hooda, MS Dhoni (c&wk), Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed.
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