‘Surprised how MS Dhoni middled almost every ball in the nets,' says Jharkhand's coach

Circles in Indian cricket are currently abuzz over the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) excluding wicket-keeper-batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni from the central contracts. Dhoni’s fans were disappointed with the development and many experts even said that it could be the end of the ace cricketer’s road. The 38-year-old hasn’t played for India since the semi-final loss in the ICC World Cup in England in 2019 and with his exclusion from the central contracts, a national comeback looks even pale.

However, the former World Cup-winning captain recently stunned Rajiv Kumar, the coach of his home state Jharkhand, with his fluent batting after started training since the July game against New Zealand in which his run-out had dashed India’s World Cup dreams.

Kumar said while he was expecting a little rustiness from Dhoni in his comeback session at the nets, he was found middling the ball well. He also said that Dhoni’s preparations thereby started for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Chennai Super Kings captain led his side to two consecutive finals since it returned after suspension in 2018 and won the crown once. Last year, they lost to Mumbai Indians by one run in the final.

‘Surprised how he middled almost every ball’: Jharkhand’s coach

“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,” News18 cited agencies as quoting the Jharkhand coach.

“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 has 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,” Kumar added.

While Dhoni’s exclusion from the central contracts saw his supporters losing heart, ace cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle said a good season in the IPL could see a twist in the tale for Dhoni.

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