MS Dhoni is nursing a knee injury which is hindering him: Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming

Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming stated that captain MS Dhoni is “nursing a knee injury” which hindered his running between the wickets.

Dhoni did not run at his full capacity in CSK’s three-run defeat against Rajasthan Royals in the final-over thriller on April 12. During CSK’s pre-season camp, the 41-year-old was seen wearing a knee cap.

“He (Dhoni) is nursing a knee injury, which you can see in some of his movement, which is hindering him somewhat,” Fleming said in the press conference after the match. “But still what you saw (against RR) is a great player for us. His fitness has always been very professional.”

Despite his knee injury, Dhoni justified his ball-striking against Rajasthan Royals, dragging CSK in the 176-run chase with his unbeaten 32 off just 17 balls. Although CSK went down against RR, Dhoni’s performance stood out. He has overall scored 58 runs, including six sixes and two gours, in three outings at a strike rate of nearly 215.

Flemings further heaped praise on Dhoni for the way he manages his fitness for the IPL.

“He (Dhoni) comes a month before the tournament starts, so he doesn’t get the opportunity to do a lot [before that],” Fleming said. “He will stay fit, they will do some netting in Ranchi, but his main pre-season [fitness] is done a month before when he comes to Chennai.

“And he works his way back into match-form and I think you can still see he’s playing pretty well. So we never have any doubts about the way he manages himself and he always gets himself up to speed.”

Chennai Super Kings will next play against Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 17, Monday.