Not as much as I know. So, I don’t think we really know what’s happening, said the former India international
Sai Sudharsan
Will it be the last Indian Premier League match for Mahendra Singh Dhoni? Everyone has that question, but no one knows as Chennai Super Kings take on hosts Gujarat Titans on a hot Sunday afternoon at the Narendra Modi Stadium. At the pre-match media interaction on Saturday, CSK assistant bowling coach Sridharan Sriram was asked if any hint was given about the future of Dhoni. “Not as we know. Not as much as I know. So, I don’t think we really know what’s happening,” said the former India international.
CSK recently hired Gujarat wicketkeeper-batter Urvil Patel as a replacement player, and the youngster has done well in the two matches he has played so far. When mid-day asked if Urvil was being groomed as the future CSK wicketkeeper, Sriram avoided a direct reply and said, “I think Urvil is an amazing talent. We’ve seen that he’s such a fearless cricketer. He’s got really fast hands, and being a ’keeper obviously helps. So, I think whether [we are] grooming him to be the next wicket keeper is still a long way off. He’s a phenomenal talent, and he’s got a very good future,” Sriram added. We’ll know next season if Urvil gets to don big gloves for CSK, but the Dhoni mystery continues.
Meanwhile Gujarat is eager to end the 14-match league phase on a winning note. “Our hunger is a bit more,” Sai Sudharsan, who was showered with congratulations for his selection to the Indian team, told media persons. “I would say the hunger to finish on top is definitely a bit more. And from a planning point of view, there won’t be a big difference, or we as a team, we don’t change a lot from the result. So, our planning or our preparation will be very similar to what we have done for all 13 games,” he explained GT’s strategy.
Lucknow, knocked out of the Playoffs race, shocked Titans with a 33-run win in their match on Thursday, and now they meet lowly CSK. Sudharsan reckons that teams out of the reckoning play with more freedom. “Teams which have gone out of the competition have more freedom to do whatever they want. They don’t have that pressure of delivering it at the exact moment. We are definitely not focusing on overcoming it. We are simply trying to improve our work or perform our best so that these objectives do not become a concern,” he said.
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