MS Dhoni was nursing a knee injury revealed Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming in his post-match press conference after the Yellow Army lost to Gujarat Titans by 3 runs despite Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja’s late heroics which took the match till the last ball.
Fans got to witness Dhoni’s injury first-hand as ‘Thala’ was seen limping in a video shared by CSK after the match against Rajasthan Royals.
Despite nursing an injury, the 41-year-old smashed a quickfire 32-run knock in just 17 balls, including two sixes in the final over against Sandeep Sharma.
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If not for the Royals pacer’s last-ball heroics, CSK could have sneaked over the line and sealed a comeback win having been reduced to 113/6 after they set out to chase the 176-run target given by Sanju Samson’s side.
Later, CSK shared a video of their legendary captain however, eagle-eyed fans noticed that Dhoni was limping in the clip that has gone viral on social media.
A warrior. A veteran. A champion - The One and Only!Full post match https://t.co/LuLJ13LVt3#CSKvRR #WhistlePodu #Yellove @msdhoni pic.twitter.com/dgsuPgT92y
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) April 13, 2023
That knee might be hurting him , reason why he’s not coming up the order as he can’t run faster between the Wickets during mid overs ! Hope he manages it anyhow. Our Middle Order should have some shame atleast should do strike rotation in the middle if no boundaries are coming!— 🎰 (@StanMSD) April 13, 2023
Thala Limping 💔The next match is on Mon & have a big gap now. That knee might be hurting him, reason why he’s not coming up the order as he can’t run faster between the Wickets during mid overs
The way he’s walking is really so much pain in his knees evident. He’s playing…
— Rakshit Shah - PATHAAN (@rshah2611) April 13, 2023
Fleming confirmed the injury to Dhoni, which comes as a potential scare for the franchise, who already have players such as Deepak Chahar and Ben Stokes ailing from respective injuries, while others such as Mukesh Choudhary and Kyle Jamieson were ruled out of IPL 2023 season.
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“He is nursing a knee injury, which you can see in some of his movements. It’s hindering him somewhat. His fitness has always been very professional. He comes a month before the tournament starts. He’s a great player. We have never doubts over him. He’s just amazing," said Fleming in his post-match press conference.
While Fleming didn’t confirm the severity of the injury, it remains to be seen how the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman performs in the next match as CSK prepare to take on Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on April 17.
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