M.S. Dhoni is seen during the IPL match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Bengaluru.
| Photo Credit: K. Bhagya Prakash

Nearing 43, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s six-hitting ability and fitness remains as good as anyone and the former India skipper says he has no option but to keep working hard and stay fit since “nobody gives you a discount for age”.

Dhoni, who handed Chennai Super Kings’ captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad at the start of the 2024 IPL season, played all 14 league stage games, batted way down the order and yet made a huge impact.

The World Cup-winning captain scored 161 runs at an incredible strike rate of 220.55, forcing many to believe that he can play for two more years in the IPL.

The iconic cricketer admitted that it is tough for him to perform after he comes straight to the IPL without playing any cricket prior to the league.

“The toughest thing is, I am not playing cricket throughout the year. So I have to be fit. Once I come, you are competing against youngsters who are fit and playing international cricket. Professional sport is not easy, nobody gives you a discount for age,” Dhoni said in a video that is doing the rounds on social media.

“If you want to play, you have to be as fit as the other guy. Age does not really give that grace to you. So, eating habits, a bit of training and all those things are there. Social media, thankfully, I am not on social media, so there’s less distraction,” Dhoni said in the video posted by Dubai Eye 103.8 YouTube channel.

For the legendary cricketer from Jharkhand, things like farming, riding bikes and vintage cars work as stress buster for him.

“Once I quit international cricket, I wanted to spend a bit more time with my family. But, at that same time, to be mentally active, to have that passion to stay focussed — for me, I love farming, for me it is the motorbikes, I have started getting into vintage cars.

“These things de-stress me. If am stressed, I would maybe go to the garage, spend a couple of hours over there and I will just be fine, I would come back,” he said.

“I have always felt growing up with a pet, whether it is a cat or a dog… I prefer dogs though. They have unconditional love towards you. I have said this in a previous interview, even if I lose a game and come back, my dog greets me the same way.” He has been a much admired leader at CSK and Dhoni said that “we need to earn that respect of the people you’re leading”.

“You cannot command or demand respect. You need to earn it. I may have a position in an institution, and yes, that position needs to be respected. But me as an individual sitting on the chair, I need to earn that respect.

“I cannot just say ‘respect me’! If you have the respect of the people around you, they give 10 to 15 percent more.

“India is slightly different. People talk about being professional. Yes, we Indians are professional, but our emotional connect is stronger. I feel as an Indian, my strength is the emotional connect. My connection with CSK is an emotional connect.

“It’s not just a player who comes and plays for a couple of months and then goes back home.” While he is not a big fan of social media, Dhoni would prefer Instagram over X to avoid controversy.

“I prefer Instagram over Twitter (X). I believe that nothing good has happened over Twitter, you know, especially in India, there’s always a controversy. Somebody will write something and it turns into a controversy.

“I was like why do I need to be there? It used to be 140 characters. You cannot elaborate. Imagine me putting something over there and then it is left to the people to read it. And they just interpret what they want to interpret.

“So I’m like, no, no, that’s not really for me. Instagram, still I like because I could put up my picture or video or something and just leave it. That is also changing now. So I still prefer Instagram, but I’m not very active because less distractions are better.”

Rain clouds hover around the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, during training ahead of the IPL 2024 match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK), in Bengaluru on May 17, 2024
| Photo Credit: K. Murali Kumar

Bengaluru’s weather is so notoriously fickle that its tantrums have acquired cult status. On May 18, the city faithful will be praying that it behaves, for a washout against Chennai Super Kings will send their beloved Royal Challengers Bengaluru out.

There is indeed an inglorious tradition of rain affecting at least one RCB home game in an IPL season. An unrelenting summer has ensured that RCB has dodged the bullet six times in the 2024 edition.

However, Saturday’s forecast is for good amounts of precipitation, and it seems like luck may have finally run out.

Scope for hope

There is, of course, the state-of-the-art SubAir drainage system that can get the ground ready in no time. And if the skies relent for two hours, a five-over match is eminently possible. But would five overs do justice to a clash that will be one of the last times Virat Kohli and M.S. Dhoni face-off?

Another variable is the pitch. This season, the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium has been far from the batting paradise it usually is; only twice has the 200-run mark been breached in 12 innings (RCB vs. SRH). But the last time CSK and RCB met in Bengaluru, 444 runs were scored. A repeat is in the hands of the weather gods.