MS Dhoni Will Take Time To Return Back To Form: Stephen Fleming

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach Stephen Fleming came out in defense of MS Dhoni after the captain decided to step out to bat at No.7 while chasing a steep target of 217 runs against Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Tuesday. His decision was largely criticized in the cricketing fraternity but Fleming explained his move.

Fleming said that Dhoni has not played for a long period of time and thus it will take him time to return back to form. He also added that Dhoni looked in good touch towards the fag end of the innings which is a good sign for what is about to follow.

“We have this question every year. He was in in the 12th (14th) over, which is pretty much optimal time, and sort of batted accordingly,” Fleming said after CSK’s defeat.

“He is coming back from not playing a huge amount of cricket, so the expectations, to see him at his best, is gonna take some time.

“But you see him towards the end, he was very good.”

Dhoni played a bizarre knock during a mammoth 217-run chase against Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2020 contest on Tuesday. Dhoni once again promoted Sam Curran in the batting line-up as he stepped in to bat at No.7 for Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

CSK heavily relied on Faf du Plessis to score most of the runs. Dhoni just picked up singles to return strike to the former South Africa captain. The veteran batsman looked out of touch for most part of the match, before he changed his bat in the final over, and slammed three back to back sixes.