MS Dhoni Took A Subtle Dig At Suresh Raina After The Opening Match: Chennai Super Kings made a blockbuster come back into the tournament as they thrashed the defending champions Mumbai Indians by five wickets in IPL 2020 season opener in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. Though it was a great match but fans missed the presence of Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh in the team. Both the players had pulled out of IPL 2020 citing personal reasons.
Following the great win, MS Dhoni lauded the personnel behind the scenes for their efforts. He said several things took to make such a big tournament happen. However, he also said that it is easy to criticize as cricketers, which could be an indirect dig at his teammates. He said:
“It is an amazing job done by the IPL, especially ones behind the scenes. To make it happen there are a hundred different things; as cricketers we easily criticize stuff,”
He also praised the practice facilities, as it is tough to play well in a tournament like this. Dhoni said:
“To have the practice facilities like these at the ICC academy were fantastic. Unless you get practice facilities you won’t play well in a tournament like this,”
Talking about the game, MS Dhoni was proactive as the skipper behind the stumps. He made great plans and kept rotating the bowlers. Ambati Rayudu and Faf du Plessis gave a brilliant performance to help their team win the opening clash by 5 wickets.
Bahubali Returns! ?? #WhistleFromHome #WhistlePodu #Yellove #MIvCSK pic.twitter.com/eoIUK0wFK9
— Chennai Super Kings – Mask P?du Whistle P?du! (@ChennaiIPL) September 19, 2020
He also expressed how it wasn’t a water-tight performance from his team in the opening match as they started off slow but felt that experience eventually paid off for the oldest average-age squad in the IPL. He had said:
“The experience pays off, everyone talks about it. You get it only after you play a lot of games. 300 ODIs is a dream for anybody to play and when you put an XI on the field, you need a good mix of youngsters and experienced players,”
He added:
“You need the experienced players to guide the youngsters on and off the field. The young players get 60-70 days with the seniors in the IPL.”
‘An amazing job by each an every individual who is a part of the IPL,’ MS Dhoni on #Dream11IPL #MIvCSK pic.twitter.com/xcvyZzLs6I
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) September 19, 2020