‘Singam in Surat’ – MS Dhoni joins CSK camp in Surat ahead of IPL 2022


‘Singam in Surat’ – MS Dhoni joins CSK camp in Surat ahead of IPL 2022

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni arrived in Surat for the pre-IPL practice camp on Wednesday.

ADVERTISEMENT

Surat will host a 20-day practice camp for the franchise from March 2. The evening practice session will be held at Lalbhai Contractor Stadium with prominent international stars like MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo. CSK wanted to get accustomed to Mumbai like pitches and chose Surat because its pitches are prepared using the same soil as it is in Mumbai. CSK’s official Twitter handle posted a picture of Dhoni leaving his car with hashtags “SingamInSurat” and “THA7A”.

“It is a matter of pride for the city that we got a practice camp for a team that has international cricketing stars,” said Hemant Contractor, the president of Surat District Cricket Association. He also quoted that no spectators will be allowed to witness the session due to the bio bubble. Some 25 players along with the other staff members and a medical team of the franchise will participate in the camp. This year’s IPL will be played in Mumbai and Pune due to COVID safety.

“With the Chennai pitch clay-based, we decided to practise on wickets that will be similar to those in Mumbai and Pune. Also, the travel will be easy,” said CSK’s chief executive officer Kasi Viswanathan. He told reporters about the overseas coaching staff led by coach Stephen Fleming will be arriving around March 12.

ADVERTISEMENT

ALSO READ | BIG BLOW! Chennai Super Kings frontline pacer set to miss the majority of IPL 2022

MS Dhoni to play a vital role in this year’s IPL

MS Dhoni

The 40-year-old MS Dhoni batted poorly in the last year’s IPL and had contributed only 114 runs with a strike rate of 106.54 in the entire season. However, the absence of experienced players like Faf du Plessis and Suresh Raina makes CSK’s batting line-up a little lighter. Eyes are now on MS Dhoni’s batting skills and leadership to defend the title. Besides Dhoni, Ambati Rayudu, who was bought in for INR 6.75 crore, also joined the camp.

CSK is a part of Group B that has teams of Royal Challengers Bangalore, SunRisers Hyderabad, Gujarat Titans and Punjab Kings.  Group B consists of the teams of Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, Kolkata Knight Riders, Lucknow Super Giants and Rajasthan Royals. CSK is set to play with Shreyas Iyer-led Kolkata Knight Riders to kick start the 15th edition of the IPL. MS Dhoni’s team had grabbed their fourth IPL trophy in the last year’s tournament.

ALSO READ | UP VS MAH, Ranji Trophy, Match no.52, Dream 11 Fantasy Cricket Tips, Playing 11, Pitch Report, and Other Updates

ADVERTISEMENT