Former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni who will play the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 as an uncapped player revealed a shocking update about his fitness. The 43-year-old revealed that he was not completely fit in the past couple of editions as he underwent knee surgery that troubled him throughout the 16th season in 2023.
Despite the wicketkeeper batter demoting himself down the batting order throughout IPL 2024, his strike rate was above 200 and once again proved his power-hitting abilities in the death overs. However, MS Dhoni still leads the charts as the top batter to smash the most sixes in the 20th over of the IPL so far, which includes 66 sixes out of 322 balls faced. While the former West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard ranks behind in the list with just 33 sixes out of 189 balls faced.
The former Indian captain who retired from international cricket in 2020 accepted the fact that his fitness levels were not at the best levels compared to the previous versions of the tournament. But the Ranchi right-handed batter ensured to keep himself busy during the IPL off-season with other sports and physical fitness to achieve the best results.
Dhoni is one of the most successful IPL captains with 133 wins in 226 matches. However, CSK’s captaincy transition from MSD to Ruturaj Gaikwad resulted in the 5-time champions facing a disappointing outing as they failed to qualify for playoffs. As the franchise aims for its 6th IPL title, let’s find out the veteran cricketer’s opinion about his fitness and technique to react to the opponent bowler’s deliveries that helped him score runs in the past IPL seasons.
MS Dhoni’s Major Hint About His Recent Fitness: Not As Fit As He Was Earlier
In a recent conversation on the latest episode of ‘Tread Talks’ Eurogrip Tyres, MS Dhoni dropped a huge hint ahead of the forthcoming IPL 2025 season:
“No! I am not as fit as I used to be because plenty of efforts are required to maintain fitness at this age. It depends upon your diet, and I am following certain routines to be fit and play cricket. However, our requirements wouldn’t be much harsher as we aren’t fast bowlers.
The main factor that helps me is participating in different types of sports such as tennis, badminton, and football which keeps me always busy. Also, I have been eating good foods and going to the gym, which is perhaps the simplest and best way of maintaining fitness,” Dhoni said.
Is Dhoni Missing International Cricket? The 2011 World Cup Winning Captain’s Opinion
Having won all three ICC titles in limited-overs cricket, MS Dhoni shared his opinion that he doesn’t miss international cricket as he has done his role for Team India:
“Not at all! I felt that I would get more time, but, regrettably, I haven’t got much time. I haven’t been missing international cricket because I believe that you all are convinced about every decision taken.
There is no point in dwelling too much about that once you have finalized your decision. At present, I am blessed with God’s grace for whatever I was able to contribute to my country. But, it has been fun as I have been spending time a lot with my family and friends. Especially, I can go for motorcycle rides, but not the long journey which has been very special for me. ” Dhoni added.
Dhoni’s Technique to React to the Ball in Cricket: World’s Best Finisher’s Opinion
Hailed as the world’s best finisher in cricket, Dhoni highlights the importance of responding decisively to the deliveries bowled by the opponent team’s bowlers highlighting it as the fundamental to success in cricket:
“Yeah! First, you need to differentiate the challenges that are controllable rather than complicating them which might make it tough to understand. One of the best techniques for a batter is to watch the ball and react accordingly to the way bowled at you.
As far as I am concerned, I need to practice and eat well to be controllable in cricket. Moreover, I need to get adequate sleep before the match. This helps to ensure that I can be fit and be focused on how much hydration I require and try to gather as much information as possible about the opposition,” MSD explained important facts.
Dhoni’s Scores in IPL 2024: Final Opinion
Undergoing knee surgery after the 16th season declared Dhoni to be fit for IPL 2024 and performing the role of a wicketkeeper for every 20 overs of the 14 matches, restricted his batting abilities to score huge runs. As a result, he ensured to bat down the order only in the death overs, compiling 161 runs in 11 innings at an average of 53.67 as he remained unbeaten in eight innings.
These are MSD’s scores throughout the IPL 2024 season against these opponents:
| Opponent Team | Runs | Balls Faced | 4s and 6s | Strike Rate | Batting Position in a Match |
| Delhi Capitals (DC) | *37 | 16 | 4 Fours and 3 Sixes | 231.25 | 8th Position |
| Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) | *1 | 2 | 0 | 50.00 | 7th Position |
| *5 | 2 | 1 Four | 250.00 | 5th Position | |
| Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) | *1 | 3 | 0 | 33.33 | 5th Position |
| Mumbai Indians (MI) | *20 | 4 | 3 Sixes | 500.00 | 6th Position |
| Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) | *28 | 9 | 3 Fours and 2 Sixes | 311.11 | 8th Position |
| *4 | 1 | 1 Four | 400.00 | 6th Position | |
| Gujarat Titans (GT) | *26 | 11 | 1 Four and 3 Sixes | 236.36 | 8th Position |
| Punjab Kings (PBKS) | 14 | 11 | 1 Four and 1 Six | 127.27 | 7th Position |
| 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9th Position | |
| Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) | 25 | 13 | 3 Fours and 1 Six | 192.31 | 8th Position |
NOTE: Here “*” indicates the batter remaining unbeaten / not out in an inning
