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‘As long as I’m beating the fastest sprinter in team, I consider myself fit enough for international cricket’: MS Dhoni to Manjrekar

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | Byhindustantimes.com
Aug 09, 2020 07:29 AM IST

Sanjay Manjrekar shared an inside story, a conversation that took place between him and MS Dhoni during the wedding reception of Virat Kohli which demonstrates that we may not have seen the last of the two-time World Cup winning captain in India colours.

Renowned commentator and former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar is confident about MS Dhoni having a wonderful IPL 2020 season for the Chennai Super Kings, believing the conditions are going to be tailor-made for the former India captain.

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Manjrekar shared an inside story, a conversation that took place between him and Dhoni during the wedding reception of Virat Kohli which demonstrates that we may not have seen the last of the two-time World Cup winning captain in India colours.

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“During Virat Kohli’s wedding, I had a little corner time with him and he said that as long as I am beating the fastest sprinter in the team, I am going to consider myself fit enough to be playing international cricket or playing high-level cricket,” Manjrekar said on the Cricket Connected Show on Star Sports.

“So, as a batter, with MS Dhoni in the IPL, I don’t see much difference. In fact, the conditions that we have, I keep saying, is just perfect for Dhoni, where’s it’s going to be about the mind and not just power hitting.”

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Despite having not played any form of cricket, Dhoni has reportedly hit the ground running ahead of the IPL 2020. An official of the JSCA International Cricket Stadium recently stated that Dhoni was at the venue practicing batting in the indoors training facility. Suresh Raina, a long-time CSK teammate and a close friend of Dhoni provided an update on Dhoni’s training saying ‘the UAE will see his helicopters soon’.

Dhoni’s IPL record is better than his record for India in T20Is and that is one of the factors why Manjrekar backs him to enjoy a fabulous IPL this year. In the 190 matches he’s played in the IPL for CSK, Dhoni has scored 4432 runs at an average of 42.20 with 23 half-centuries, while for India, the numbers dip a little with 1617 runs from 98 games. Manjrekar explains why that is.

“I think he is going to be very good and one of the reasons that he is so successful and so consistent in the IPL as a batsman as opposed to international is that he knows that there are about four to five bowlers to handle. And there are some good ones and there are some not so good ones in the IPL,” Manjrekar said.

“In international, you have got five quality bowlers, so he’s so good at picking out those guys and going after them. And people with Tendulkar, Dhoni, these are champion cricketers. Once they are on the public stage, you will never see Dhoni ever on a public stage, like a cricket field, looking slightly unfit or unable to sprint or run.”

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