The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni has started preparation for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season. Jharkhand coach Rajiv Kumar talked about Dhoni's decision to practice with the state team.

Talking about his first impression on Dhoni's batting, Rajiv said he was a bit surprised to see the 38-year-old playing with ease in the nets. He was middling the ball quite well despite being away from cricket for a long time. 

ALSO READ: MS Dhoni could make himself available for India selection after IPL

"I will be honest. I thought there will be a bit of rustiness as Dhoni has not trained for quite some time. The last time we had spoken, he had said that he would start in January and here you go. He is a man of his words and it came as no surprise that he was out there training with the guys just like any other regular Jharkhand player. 

"But what surprised me most was how he middled almost every ball, be it in the pacer's net or the spinner's net. He even took throwdowns just like a player going through the batting drills does."

Rajiv has not discussed Dhoni's future and whether if he is going to play for India again or not. 

"I haven't had any talks with him with regards to the national team and him donning the India jersey again. But, his preparations for the next edition of the IPL have begun and while the senior team will be busy playing the Ranji Trophy game from Sunday, Dhoni will continue training till the time he is in Ranchi," the coach said.

Dhoni is spending time with the youngsters in Jharkhand, especially bowlers. The Jharkhand coach revealed he was helping the bowlers to understand what line and length to bowl.

"He is such a professional and has been going on spending time with the youngsters, especially the bowlers. He is discussing the line and length that they should target and the ways to fox the opposition batsmen. He has been as vocal as can be expected from a senior player like Dhoni," Kumar said.

(With IANS Inputs)