IPL 2023: Fleming reveals Dhoni’s ‘main pre-season’ preparation – ‘He works his way back into match form

The 41-year-old retired India cricketer turned back the clock at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday, smashing 32 unbeaten runs off 17 deliveries. With 21 required off the last over, he smoked two consecutive sixes of the second and third ball of the over.

Despite the right-hand batter finding some problem in stealing quick singles, he took the match down to the wire with an unbeaten 59-run partnership off 30 balls with Ravindra Jadeja. How is Dhoni still managing to fare well in these high-pressure games? Fleming has explained.

“He is nursing a knee injury which you can see in some of his movements, hindering him somewhat. His fitness has been professional. He comes in months before the tournament. He does some netting in Ranchi, but his main preseason is a month before he comes to Chennai.

“He works his way back into match form, and you can still see he is playing pretty well. So we always have confidence about how he manages himself. He always keeps himself up to speed,” said Fleming at the post-match press conference after CSK’s 3-run defeat against Rajasthan Royals (RR)

The match was Dhoni’s 200th as the captain of CSK. No other player in the history of the IPL has achieved the feat of leading a single team in 200 matches.

After winning and losing two matches each, CSK are occupying the fifth spot in the 10-team IPL 2023. The four-time champions will next face Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Monday, April 17.