IPL: Can CSK learn to live without Dhoni? Legend set to miss up to six games

CHENNAI: Mahendra Singh Dhoni is in the final lap of his career. For all practical purposes, this is going to be his last IPL. And now, it seems that his 44-year-old body is disobeying his will to carry on even for that final burst.

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Dhoni, who has been training hard for over a month, has suffered a calf strain in practice that could keep him out for around three weeks. While the official CSK release mentions a two-week layoff, team sources indicate it is unlikely he will return before the last week of April.

That could mean the legend misses at least six matches, with a possible return against Mumbai Indians on April 23 also uncertain.




Staying back

“It is definitely a big blow for us and we’ll have to deal with it,” a senior CSK official said. Dhoni hasn’t travelled to Guwahati for the team’s first match against Rajasthan Royals on Sunday and is doing his rehabilitation in Chennai. “He is taking rest and we want him back as soon as possible,” the source said.

While Dhoni’s absence reduces the buzz around CSK, it could also prove to be a blessing in disguise. The five-time IPL-winning captain wasn’t close to his best in the last couple of seasons and his role was limited to brief spells of batting post the 15th over due to the constant injuries that he had suffered.

It was high time that Super Kings found a capable lower-order batter and in Dhoni’s absence, the door may open for the likes of Prashant Veer and Karthik Sharma — brought in for Rs 14.2 crore — to take responsibility at the back-end of the innings with some explosive batting.

Samson to keep wickets

The keeping aspect, though, is well covered with Sanju Samson coming in. A while back, CSK CEO Kashi Viswanathan had said that Dhoni was unlikely to play all games, indicating that Sanju would be the No. 1 ’keeper.

It also meant that Dhoni would be an ‘Impact Sub’ as a batter and now, following the injury, that decision may be forced upon CSK even when their star player returns.

The fact that Dhoni hasn’t travelled with the team and won’t be in the dugout clearly indicates that during the match, the team will be looking at the new leadership group of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Samson to take critical calls, maybe in consultation with coach Stephen Fleming.



While CSK die-hards will hope to catch a glimpse of Dhoni in action later in the IPL at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, the next three weeks will give us an indication of the direction that the five-time champions will go in the future.
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