IPL 2019 | Focus on MS Dhoni’s fitness, says Michael Hussey
Michael Hussey has stated that Chennai Super Kings physio Tommy Simsek has put his focus on MS Dhoni's fitness ahead of the World Cup. The skipper has been suffering from back issues for a while now, and also missed a game against Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 17 to allow himself some recovery time.
The Indian Premier League is a tightly scheduled tournament with as many as 60 matches in less than two months and with the World Cup scheduled right after the tournament, it is bound to take a toll on the players. The finals are scheduled on May 12 and the Indian team’s first warm-up is on May 25 against New Zealand. This leaves a very little window for rest, thereby, the discussions around the workload of players has taken centre stage. The injury of South African pacer Dale Steyn just after two matches has only added fuel to the fire.Â
The senior-most player of the Indian squad, MS Dhoni, has been suffering from back issues for a while and he even had to give a miss to one of Chennai Super Kings’ encounters. The skipper made a comeback just after one game but hinted that he has been playing with issues in the back. However, Indian fans would be relieved after the CSK batting coach Mike Hussey has revealed that the utmost care is being taken to manage the workload of the 37-year-old.
"It is important that we are smart about it and get the management of the players right. There is a big focus on rest and recovery and our physio Tommy Simsek is working extremely hard. It's not just with MS but all the players so that they are fresh," the former player said, reported TOI.
The Chennai based franchise is currently placed at the top of the points table with eight wins in eleven matches. Their playoff berth is more or less confirmed even if, mathematically, they are not there yet. Also, the team would like to end up within the top two and resting Dhoni will make that difficult. Hussey remarked that Dhoni’s love for CSK is known and that makes it even more difficult to enable him to rest.
"I think what I know about him is that he doesn't want to miss any matches. He loves playing for CSK, this place is very close to his heart and he wants to play and do well and see the team succeed. So trying to get him to have rest is very difficult," the 43 year old signed off.
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