Published 18:17 IST, September 5th 2020
IPL 2020: MS Dhoni unleashes 'The Finisher' as he smacks Piyush Chawla for Maximum, Watch
MS Dhoni had a good go at the bowlers in the net session and didn't seem even a bit rusty as he played speedsters and spinners with the same poise as before
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Despite all the blows suffered by CSK even before the tournament begins, skipper MS Dhoni seems unaffected and calm as ever as the franchise finally hit the grounds on Friday after an extended quarantine. The skipper had a good go at the bowlers in the net session and didn't seem even a bit rusty as he played speedsters and spinners with the same poise as before. While Dhoni respected all the deliveries coming at him, he did unleash his power-hitting stroke leaving veteran spinner Piyush Chawla on the receiving end.
The veteran wicketkeeper-batsman came dancing down the ground only to smack Chawla's flighted delivery straight above his head for a huge maximum. The skipper's form will be of paramount significance as he gets back to action nearly after a year-long period. The skipper also polished his wicket-keeping as he was seen taking drills with the gloves later.
Here's how fans reacted to Dhoni's six:
Dhoni will also have to fill the void left by CSK's star batsman Suresh Raina who has pulled out of the upcoming tournament due to personal reasons. With the skipper seeming to be in his usual groove, CSK will look forward to laying their hands on the silverware again in the UAE.
CSK received a huge blow as 13 members of the franchise were infected with COVID last week. Out of the 13, it was confirmed that two were squad players, who will be quarantined for the next two weeks before joining the squad again. The infected members have tested negative. Apart from the COVID threat, the MS Dhoni-led side received severe blows as star players Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh have pulled out of the tournament.
IPL 2020 in UAE
The cash-rich tournament, which was earlier postponed, has been moved to the UAE due to the prevailing COVID-19 situation in India. The tournament is all set to start on September 19 while the final will be played on November 10. The BCCI has already issued an SOP for the tournament and has also allowed COVID-19 replacement during the tournament. Recently, Dream11 acquired the title sponsorship rights for IPL 2020 for a whopping amount of Rs 220 crore after Vivo's exit. This year's edition will also feature COVID replacements that have been allowed by the governing body in view of the pandemic. The schedule of the tournament will be released on September 6.
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
18:17 IST, September 5th 2020