Stiff back is still troubling MS Dhoni

Pune: Chennai Super Kings skipper M.S. Dhoni said his back was “quite bad”, but nothing much he could do because of a lack of resting period in the IPL. “I haven’t been training much because of that. T20 is not much workload, so it’s manageable,” said Dhoni after scoring his fastest IPL fifty, against Delhi Daredevils on Monday.

Dhoni said it was important for CSK to have a good start against Delhi. “Not necessarily in terms of runs, but even a good partnership, and I can promote myself and come out at No. 5. It’s more fun when you go into the 8th and 10th overs and the bowler doesn’t know when you will go for the big runs. Looking at the wicket, we thought we’ll get an overseas batsman in. We thought Sam Billings needed a bit of rest,” he said.

Dhoni said having Ambati Rayudu in the middle and Faf opening the innings gave more stability to the line-up. “And Rayudu can score runs at any position, so that was the best decision.”

South African Faf Du Plessis heaped praise on Dhoni for his ability to hit any bowler and said such a quality can make life difficult for any rival captain.  “He (Dhoni) is in really good form at the moment, so it’s extremely tough to bowl to him when he is in a form like that. He has got such a big arch and if you want to bowl wide he can still hit you to the leg side,” Du Plessis said.

“He has got a lot of options, so it makes life difficult for a bowler and a captain because he can hit any ball to wherever he wants to. That kind of form is obviously very important to us,” he added.

Du Plessis also praised young Indian batsman Ambati Rayudu for his flexibility.
Rayudu has delivered for CSK when asked to open and even he was required to bat at the number four position.  “Rayadu’s flexibility has really impressed me. I have really enjoyed watching him bat in this IPL. The ability to come in and score boundaries from the first ball is a very difficult skill.”