Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, nursing an elbow injury, might rejoin the Chennai team in time for the Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Mumbai Indians next week, coach Stephen Fleming said.
Speaking at a media conference here on Saturday, Fleming said: “We are in touch. He is recovering slowly. The physio has asked him to be ready to bat in the Mumbai game (slated for March 25). Dhoni will be seen by the physio well before that and we are hoping that he will be available for our matches starting with Mumbai.”
On the Sunday’s game against the Kings XI Punjab, Fleming was cautious and said: “I am surely happy on winning two games. But there are another eleven matches to go. We have experienced that one can go in superb form and suddenly lose the momentum.”
“So, we are realistic about each challenge and each game. Our interest is to make the top four in the first phase and that stage will be ideal to win the tournament.”
The Super Kings beat Kolkata Knight Riders and the Delhi Daredevils in their two away games after losing to Deccan Chargers in their opening fixture at home.
Fleming pointed out that the Kings XI, having lost all their three games so far, would be only too keen to get some points on the board and that should make them dangerous opponents.
“They (Kings XI) have lost three games. But I think it is a dangerous side to play against. It is the team that is looking to win at this stage. We got to put them under pressure straight away and hopefully expose some lack of confidence which will come from losing those games.”
“We cannot be over confident. We got to look into our moments, bowling discipline and strong fielding efforts. We have got to look after that,” he said.
Giving full marks to stand-in captain Suresh Raina’s performance against the Daredevils Friday night, Fleming said: “We are all happy. I think, Raina is a super star now. His job was tough, especially when you have to captain against Warner, Dilshan, Shewag and de Villiers. He has handled himself very well. He was able to change things around.”
“We talked about it and he had the courage to bring the spinners early in the match. He did a wonderful job with his bat. He finished the job well and you like the captain to do that.”
