Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], April 13 : Chennai Super Kings (CSK) icon MS Dhoni had a light stint in the nets ahead of his team's clash against three-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Chepauk Stadium but remains unlikely for the clash, as per ESPNCricinfo.
Dhoni has missed all four of his team's IPL clashes this season so far due to a calf strain and is also unlikely to play the fifth one against KKR. The 44-year-old is still working his way towards full fitness. On March 28, CSK had issued a statement that Dhoni was to miss the first two weeks of the season due to his injury issue and would undergo rehab. The two-week limit has just expired, but Dhoni has yet to demonstrate his match fitness.
During the nets, as per ESPNCricinfo, Dhoni is yet to bat full tilt and has been facing only throwdowns, particularly from batting coach and ex-CSK teammate Michael Hussey. During the training season, Dhoni also did not practice any wicketkeeping.
The legendary batter has not travelled with his team for their matches, neither to Guwahati and Bengaluru for their away games or to Chepauk on the match days at home.
Speaking during a pre-match presser before their clash against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) earlier at home, head coach Stephen Fleming had said that Dhoni remains an influential figure within the franchise.
"It is just a game without him. He is still heavily involved in the side, and his influence remains very strong," Fleming had said.
In 278 IPL matches, Dhoni has made 5,439 runs in 242 innings at an average of 38.30 and a strike rate of 137.45, including 24 fifties and a best score of 84*. He is the sixth-highest run getter in the tournament history. In last season's wooden spoon finish, Dhoni scored 196 runs in 13 innings at an average of 24.50 and a strike rate of over 135, with a best score of 30*.
Squads:
Kolkata Knight Riders Squad: Ajinkya Rahane(c), Finn Allen, Angkrish Raghuvanshi(w), Cameron Green, Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Sunil Narine, Navdeep Saini, Kartik Tyagi, Manish Pandey, Vaibhav Arora, Tejasvi Dahiya, Rahul Tripathi, Tim Seifert, Blessing Muzarabani, Saurabh Dubey, Sarthak Ranjan, Rachin Ravindra, Prashant Solanki, Varun Chakaravarthy, Matheesha Pathirana, Umran Malik, Daksh Kamra
Chennai Super Kings Squad: Sanju Samson(w), Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Ayush Mhatre, Sarfaraz Khan, Shivam Dube, Dewald Brevis, Jamie Overton, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Matthew Short, Akeal Hosein, Kartik Sharma, Prashant Veer, Matt Henry, Ramakrishna Ghosh, MS Dhoni, Shreyas Gopal, Rahul Chahar, Spencer Johnson, Mukesh Choudhary, Urvil Patel, Aman Khan, Zakary Foulkes.
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