Will MS Dhoni play next match vs DC: Stephen Fleming gives huge update on CSK captain’s fitness

Will MS Dhoni play next match vs DC: Chennai Super Kings coach was vocal about MS Dhoni’s fitness after CSK losing at Mumbai Indians at home.

Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni missing the match against Mumbai Indians last night came as a massive blow for the defending champions. In a chase which could have been bread an butter for Dhoni, his absence saw Super Kings being bowled out for 109 in the 18th over.

In a recent interaction with the media, Chennai coach Stephen Fleming opened up how Dhoni’s absence affects the team and how it is a hole too big to fill.

“I think you know the answer to that. He is a great leader and a great player. He’s been a constant for us for so many years. You just get into the rhythm while having him there. When you take a leader like that out, there are going to be some holes to fill. It’s not that we’re not trying to fill it. It’s just that the hole is quite big,” Fleming was quoted as saying.

“It takes a mammoth effort in Dhoni’s absence”

Hailing Dhoni as “one of the best players”, Fleming opined that it will require a mammoth effort from not just one player but the whole team to produce same results which come under Dhoni.

“It takes a mammoth effort to lift the team up when you have one of the best player who is unavailable. It’s probably psychological as well. Though we’re good enough to do that, the two games we have played without him, the performances have been well-below par from a team perspective as well as an individual perspective,” Fleming said.

On the two occasions when Dhoni has missed a match this season, CSK have registered scores of 132/5 and 109/10. Being asked if Dhoni not playing make the other batsman insecure, Fleming denied the same. “I don’t think so [batsmen insecure in Dhoni’s absence]. There’s a comfort when he’s there. He was there [batting] in the last game. The players are good enough and have enough experience to do it themselves,” Fleming added.

“They both are pretty sick”

Before concluding, Fleming ended up giving update on both Dhoni and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja’s (also missed the last match) health. “They [Dhoni and Jadeja] both are pretty sick – both unwell, virus and bacteria. A lot of teams are struggling at the moment through that.

“We’re looking forward to the four-day break. It’s probably come one day bit too late. But we’ve got a four-day break now. I think Mumbai [Indians] benefited from that [five-day break]. We are going to look to do the same now,” Fleming further added.