When MS Dhoni came to CSK camp, he didn't look rusty at all: Piyush Chawla

MS Dhoni hasn’t played any competitive cricket since the World Cup 2019 semi-final against New Zealand. He was expected to retire after the mega event but the veteran surprised many going on a sabbatical. Even as various speculations were made about his availability, Dhoni didn’t comment anything about playing for India again. However, it was almost certain that he will return to the field for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to play in the IPL.

Ahead of the 13th edition of the cash-rich league, the CSK set up a camp for the players in the first week of March. And MS Dhoni was one of the first players to attend it. Like every year, the Chepauk stadium was full to see their hero bat in the nets. Interestingly, the swashbuckling batsman was also seen hitting sixes at will during practice games.

Recalling the scenes in training camp, CSK’s new recruit Piyush Chawla has claimed that MS Dhoni never looked like he was away from the game for a long time. He remembers the 38-year-old hitting big sixes in the nets and believes that Dhoni must have been training somewhere at his home town during the sabbatical.

“Honestly speaking, if any cricketers comes after a long break, he will be rusty, but I am sure, he (MSD) was doing some training in Ranchi because when he came to CSK camp, he didn’t look rusty at all. He will defend for 5-6 balls in the nets and then smack each and every ball for a six,” Chawla said while speaking to Aakash Chopra on his official Youtube channel.

CSK picked Piyush Chawla in IPL 2020 auction

Piyush Chawla played for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the last few IPL editions but the franchise released him ahead of the 2020 auction. CSK then went all out for him in the auction and were in a bidding war with the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP). Eventually, the franchise snapped him up for a whopping amount of Rs 6.75 crore.

The leggie was looking forward to playing in the IPL 2020 for the CSK and also joined the team for the camp only for the tournament to be postponed indefinitely due to COVID-19.