Another exciting season of the IPL is coming towards the end. Just a few matches in the group stage has been left. But above all these, MS Dhoni might playing the last season of IPL of his career. Fans are emotional. But Captain Cool is showcasing his finishing skills in his signature style. From cricket experts to fans, everyone is expecting another season from the legend. In between this Chennai Super Kings’ batting coach Michael Hussey shared his thought on this matter.
Hussey on Dhoni’s Retirement:
Right from the beginning of the Indian Premier League, MS Dhoni is there with Chennai Super Kings. Going through with so many ups and downs, he won five trophies and created the biggest fanbase. His contribution in CSK camp cant be described in words. After retiring from the international cricket in 2019, now he is probably playing the last season of IPL. As nothing is official yet, fans wants to see some more magics behind the stumps from Mahi.
The batting coach for Chennai Super Kings Michael Hussey expressed his wish for Dhoni to continue playing for a few more years. Hussey said, “Your guess is as good as mine at this stage. He keeps his cards very, very close to his chest.”
Then he said, “He is still batting so well. He does prepare well – he gets into the camp very early and hits a lot of balls. He has been in good touch all season really. I guess we just got to try to manage him from the body side of things. He had a knee surgery after the last season. So he has been managing that from the initial stage of the tournament.”
Later he added, “From a personal point of view, I hope he keeps going for another couple of years. But we will just have to wait and see. He is the only one who will make that call. And he likes to sort of build the drama a little bit as well. So I wouldn’t expect a decision anytime soon.”
On Dhoni’s Batting Order in IPL 2024:
In this year’s IPL, along with Dhoni’s retirement, another buzz is going over him. Almost in every matches, Dhoni is batting in the lower order and showing his class. But fans are not happy. They wanted to see Dhoni playing in his signature style in the upper order,. Hussey also talked about this.
He said, “I know fans probably want to see him batting a little bit higher in the order,” Hussey said, “but that [the knee surgery] is why we have had to manage him a little bit and he only comes in at the back end. But there has been no one better in being able to come in and hit the ball so cleanly from ball one than MS. He has been phenomenal.”
Hussey on the Biggest Suprise, Captaincy Handover:
As fans were preparing their mind to see Dhoni saying goodbye to cricket, they got another surprise. Before starting this season, MS dhoni was stepped down from captaincy. The CSK management handed over the change to Ruturaj Gaikwad. After that, Dhoni is playing under his captaincy this year. That was a big surprise this year. Hussey talked about this.
He said, “MS sort of announced that he was not going to be attending the pre-tournament captains meeting. And we’re like, ‘Oh, no. What’s going on?’,” Hussey said. “He said Ruturaj was going to be captain from then on. So it was a little bit of a shock to start with but it has been managed really well.”
Later he added, “I know Stephen Fleming [head coach] had been working closely with Ruturaj in the lead-up to the tournament. In fact, he has been grooming him for a couple of years now. We have sort of known for a little while that he was the right man to take over the job when MS decided to step aside.”
Praising Ruturaj Gaikwad:
Gaikwad led CSK in 13 matches in the ongoing season and secured seven wins. They currently hold the third position on the points table. A victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Saturday will guarantee them a spot in the playoffs. Gaikwad’s batting has been instrumental in the team’s success, accumulating 583 runs with a strike rate of 141.50. Currently, he stands as the second-highest run-scorer in the league. M
Batting coach Michael Hussey praised him. He said, “He is a great guy, Ruturaj, very calm. He is a good thinker of the game. I mean it was always going to be a massive challenge for him, you know, how do you follow someone like MS Dhoni – it was going to be tough. But he has done a great job. He has been really calm and measured on the field. I think he will just get better and better the more he does it and the more support we keep around him.”
Later he added, “From my point of view, the pleasing thing is, it has not affected his batting at all either. He has performed extremely well with the bat. So it has been really good so far
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