Three-time Indian Premier League champions Chennai Super Kings are officially out of IPL 2020 after they played their final league stage game on Sunday. MS Dhoni’s CSK registered a big win against Kings XI Punjab, by a margin of 9 wickets, ruling KL Rahul’s KXIP out of the tournament.
CSK’s fate was well known to all long ahead of Sunday’s fixture but what MS Dhoni said at the toss gave the fans a lot of hope. Cricketer turned commentator Danny Morrison had asked the CSK skipper whether this was the last time he was donning the CSK yellow, to which Dhoni had responded by saying ‘definitely not’. Legendary batsman Sunil Gavaskar is elated after having heard the news and also has a piece of advice for Dhoni ahead of the next IPL season.
“It certainly does (bring a smile on my face). He has been such a charismatic cricketer, he brings so much joy with his batting, with his wicketkeeping, and leadership qualities. And his general demeanor on and off the field, what a role model he has been. The more we see of MS Dhoni, the better we feel,” Sunil Gavaskar told Star Sports after Sunday.
“So yes, definitely not. He has got to play on.”
“Well, Sanga said it earlier on as well, he has got to play competitive cricket. Being in the nets is fine but unless he plays competitive cricket, particularly because he is at an age where the reflexes slow down. What do you tend to lose as you get older is your timing. Everything might look good. You look at yourself in the mirror, nothing has changed. You might actually lose a little bit of weight, you might go to the gym to get stronger and fitter. But your timing changes, the timing in the sense, you think your foot is going towards the ball, but it’s just that much short for you getting a good drive or the ball going in the air,” he added.
