Australian great Matthew Hayden feels Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni isn’t fully fit and carrying an injury in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
Hayden’s comment comes after CSK’s match against Rajasthan Royals (RR) at MA Chidambaram Stadium on Wednesday (April 12).
After the game, Hayden weighed in on Dhoni’s fitness while speaking on Star Sports. While the former Aussie opener said he was not trying to ring any alarm bells, he believes they shouldn’t be giving false expectations to fans as broadcasters.
"We will not give fans the false expectations that nothing's wrong. There is definitely something wrong with MS Dhoni. His running between the wickets is usually quite electric, which was not there today. As the innings progressed on, we saw him limping quite heavily. There are some question marks, that I am sure that MS Dhoni will have to answer and the medical staff will get straight into it. He will want to keep playing in the tournament," Hayden said after the game.
Coming to the match, CSK suffered a narrow three-run defeat at the hands of RR. Needing 21 from the last over, Dhoni smashed two sixes in the first three balls of Sandeep Sharma, but was not able to hit a boundary or six in the final ball of the over, when the Super Kings required 5 off the last delivery.
Batting at No. 8, Dhoni eventually returned with 32 not out off 17 balls and his knock was studded with 1 four and 3 sixes.
The MS Dhoni-led side will next face Royal Challengers Bangalore at Chinnaswamy Stadium on April 17.