Aakash Chopra backs Dhoni 'the Batsman' to 'rule' in IPL 2020 despite being out for long

Rooting for MS Dhoni to rub off the rust as the IPL 2020 progresses, Aakash Chopra has stated that the skipper will 'rule the roost,' despite not having played for long. The commentator highlighted that Dhoni is 'soul of the CSK' and will get the best out of everyone. Chopra also reckoned that as spin comes in to play in the UAE, Dhoni's influence will grow as a batsman. 

Despite having remained out of professional cricket for more than a year, Chopra exuded confidence in Dhoni's batting abilities ahead of the tournament's start. "MS Dhoni, the batsman, is important because when spin takes precedence, his influence will grow. He may not hit the ground running, but as the tournament progresses, I am pretty sure MS Dhoni is going to rule the roost," Chopra said in his YouTube show. 

"MS Dhoni, the batsman, we haven't seen him in a long while. There are questions as to whether he will be able to hit the ground running or bat the way he used to in the past. Keep in mind, he is very experienced, and you don't get experience in the supermarket," Chopra added. 

Furthermore, Chopra also backed CSK's spin department to perform well despite the exit of veteran offie Harbhajan Singh from the squad. Pointing out the numberous options available to Dhoni in CSK's arsenal, Chopra added that CSK are number one when it comes to all-round bowling attack. "Their second strength is the spin department. Harbhajan Singh is not there, it's a bit of a setback. But they have others like Mitchell Santner, Imran Tahir, Karn Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja and Piyush Chawla. When you have 5 spinners of this calibre, you can play 2-3 together whenever you want. And in the UAE, when spinners become more important, that's when they will come to the fore," the commentator opined. 

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IPL 2020 schedule announced 

With just two weeks to go for the IPL 2020, the schedule for the 13th edition of the tournament has been announced. Defending champions Mumbai Indians will face MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings in the opening clash of the tournament on September 19 in Abu Dhabi. Compared to the regular 8 pm IST start, the games will start half an hour earlier in the upcoming edition. The afternoon matches are set to begin at 3:30 PM IST while the evening games will commence at 7:30 PM IST. 

After the tournament opener on Saturday, Dubai will host its first game on Sunday when Delhi Capitals take on Kings XI Punjab followed by the third match on Monday between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore. In all, 24 matches will be held in Dubai, 20 in Abu Dhabi and 12 in Sharjah, while the venues for playoffs will be announced later.

CSK 2020 Full Squad

Narayan Jagadeesan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KM Asif, Ravindra Jadeja, M Vijay, MS Dhoni, Josh Hazlewood, Kedar Jadhav, Karn Sharma, Piyush Chawla, Ambati Rayudu, Imran Tahir, Deepak Chahar, Faf du Plessis, Shardul Thakur, Mitchell Santner, Dwayne Bravo, Lungi Ngidi, Sam Curran, Monu Kumar, Shane Watson, Sai Kishore

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