MS Dhoni has relinquished his Chennai Super Kings captaincy on Thursday, thus passing on the baton to Ruturaj Gaikwad.
New Delhi: Former India wicketkeeper Robin Uthappa compared MS Dhoni’s fitness and mobility on the ground during Chennai Super Kings’ IPL 2024 opener against Royal Challengers Bangalore with that of tennis legend Roger Federer. One of the greatest tennis players of all time, Federer retired from the sport at 41, closing his career with 20 Grand Slams. Dhoni, for his part, is 42 not and is probably playing his final Indian Premier League season.
Unlike other former India cricketers, Dhoni doesn’t play in franchise leagues for the retired, nor does even he turn up for his state side Jharkhand in domestic cricket. Still, the two-time World Cup-winning Indian captain is at the top of his game, something that was on display on Friday in Chennai.
Dhoni, sporting his vintage long-hair look, looked sharp behind the wickets as he put quick reflexes on display. His quick dive to the right to stop an inside edge from Faf du Plessis was a testament of his fitness and also took two catches and a run-out on the final ball of the RCB innings.
Uthappa opined Dhoni was looking brand new. “He certainly does. His knee looks brand new at the moment,” Uthappa told JioCinema. “The fact that he is jogging and striding well just goes to show he has done the work behind the scenes. Just like Roger Federer. Nobody knows the kind of work ethic he has got, but he turns up in tournaments and looks really good. MS is doing that.”
Earlier, after IPL 2023 final, Dhoni underwent a knee operation in Mumbai. Uthappa, who has played under Dhoni at CSK and the Indian team, also shed light on his former skipper’s tennis session in a bid to return to fitness in 2023.
“He is looking good, looking healthy and strong from the looks of it, seems to be batting well. Like I said in the past, CSK will play MS Dhoni on a wheelchair. But, I think he has begun well. He will be happy about it. He has been playing tennis, and paddle tennis to keep himself it,” he said.
“He looks as good as gold at the moment,” Uthappa added. As far as the game is concerned, CSK won the game by six wickets with Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman taking four wickets on his debut for the five-time champions. Rahman’s 4/29 was his career-best in IPL.