With the Indian Premier League set to kick off in the United Arab Emirates next month, franchises are expecting players to return to training despite the COVID situation. After Suresh Raina and Rishabh Pant, Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni returned to training in Ranchi ahead of IPL 2020.
Incidentally, Dhoni hasn’t played a single competitive game ever since the 2019 World cup semi-final against NewZealand. He returned to training earlier in March but had to return after the COVID-19 outbreak.
MS Dhoni hits nets ahead of IPL 2020
MS Dhoni will mark his comeback to competitive cricket as he will lead Chennai Super Kings franchise for the 11th year in past 13 IPL editions. A report by the New Indian Express said that Dhoni has resumed his training in Ranchi at the Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) International Stadium Complex.
A JSCA office-bearer further confirmed the news. He said that Dhoni has started training at the facility last week and was seen practising with a bowling machine.
“He visited the JSCA International Stadium Complex last week. Dhoni practised at the indoor facility using bowling machine,” Said a JSCA office-bearer.
Meanwhile, MS Dhoni had earlier began practising at the CSK camp in Chennai along with Piyush Chawla and Suresh Raina. However, he had to shut it down due to the COVID-19 outbreak in the country. Ever since all players have either been training indoors or not training at all.
The JSCA official further said how the stadium authorities are unaware of Dhoni’s practice plans. They aren’t sure when Dhoni will return to practice next after the two-day practise he had.
Meanwhile, Chennai Super Kings were planning to reach the UAE earlier than other franchises but BCCI has declared that no teams can leave before August 20. As a result, the cricketers are resuming training in their locality to regain the touch.
“He did batting practice for two days over the weekend but has not returned since. I honestly don’t know what are his plans or whether he will come back for training. We only know he has visited the facility for practice,” he added.