NEW DELHI: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach Stephen Fleming discussed captain MS Dhoni's significant part in pre-season preparations ahead of the Indian Premier League 2024.
He mentioned that Dhoni arrives early for the pre-season training and spends time with young Indian players.
Also See: How to watch IPL in Canada
The veteran left-hand hitter claimed that for the past several years, the pre-season camp for the Chennai Super Kings has gotten longer.
"Given the age of some of the players and amount of cricket they're playing, our pre-season has extended over the last few years. So MS takes a very strong role there and he needs some volume, so he goes in early and the players just gravitate towards that," said Fleming as quoted by the CSK website.
The 50-year-old went on to say that there are numerous advantages because the youngsters get to spend pre-season time with the former captain of India.
"It enables young Indian players to reconnect, and then international players who've had commitments, they tend to come in a little bit later. The big benefits that our local Indian players get is, one, time to spend with MS Dhoni, and two, a chance to get back into the system," the former New Zealand skipper added.
The 17th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will start on March 22, with the MS Dhoni-led side who are defending champions will clash with the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in a South Indian derby at their home arena - MA Chidambaram Stadium.
Dhoni has led CSK to five titles in 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021 and 2023.
(With ANI inputs)
