Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach Stephen Fleming shared that it won’t be fair to expect CSK skipper MS Dhoni to be as quick as he was at the peak of his cricketing career. However, ahead of CSK’s match against Gujarat Titans (GT) on Friday, March 31, Dhoni faced an issue with his knee and talks were also going on about him missing the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 campaign opener. But, he played the match that CSK eventually lost by five wickets at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. And, Fleming said that Dhoni remains a crucial part of the team and has a lot to offer even as a batter too as well.

“He was always playing. Not sure where that story came from. He was nursing a sore knee throughout the month of pre-season, but today it was just cramps, it wasn’t the knee. He’s not going to be as quick and nimble as he was 15 years ago, but he is still a great leader of the side and, even with the bat, he is still going to play a part. He knows his limitations and he is a valuable player to have on the field. He is a legend, isn’t he?” Stephen Fleming said in the post-match press conference.

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Fleming also applauded fast bowler Rajvardhan Hangargekar, who made his IPL debut on Friday. The youngster became CSK’s fourth youngest debutant and finished with figures of 4-0-36-3 as well. He got the crucial wickets of Wriddhiman Saha, Sai Sudharsan and Vijay Shankar as well.

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“There has been some big improvement. His first-class work has been a lot more consistent. There are areas he still needs to work on till you are comfortable. Playing in front of 100 thousand people on your debut is a big ask. He did well, but there were some lapses, which is going to come with a young player. But getting a game and getting some wickets under his belt is huge for him,” Stephen Fleming concluded.