Mahendra Singh Dhoni vowed to return next season, fitness permitting, after winning the IPL final on Monday night, and he is already off to a good start. He was seeing a specialist for his knee, which had been bothering him all season, less than 48 hours after making the news.
On Wednesday, he was at the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital and Medical Research Institute in Mumbai to have his knee addressed, and he may have surgery on Thursday. The Chennai Super Kings captain is consulting Dr. Dinshaw Pardiwala, the hospital’s director of sports medicine with a specialty in sports orthopaedics. Dr. Pardiwala is the same doctor who is treating another IPL wicketkeeper-captain, Rishabh Pant of the Delhi Capitals.
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Dhoni met with CSK management before traveling to Mumbai. In reality, the team’s physician, Dr. Madhu Thottappil, has traveled to Mumbai with Dhoni.
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The franchise verified the news. “He has gone to meet Dr Padriwal and he is prepared to take the surgery route to recover fully for the next season,” CEO Kasi Viswanathan told a news portal on Wednesday.
Throughout IPL 2023, Dhoni battled with a left knee issue, which head coach Stephen Fleming revealed mid-season. “He (Dhoni) is nursing a knee injury, which you can see in some of his movements, which is hindering him somewhat. But still what you saw is a great player for us. His fitness has always been very professional,” the New Zealander had said.
Following CSK’s record-tying fifth IPL triumph, Dhoni stated that he would do his best to be available for the following season if his body permitted. “Circumstantially if you see, this is the best time to announce my retirement. But the amount of love and affection I have been shown wherever I have been this year, the easy thing would be for me to say ‘Thank you very much’, but the tough thing for me is to work hard for another 9 months and come back and play at least one more season. A lot depends on the body, I have 6-7 months to decide. It will be more like a gift from my side, it’s not easy for me but that’s a gift (to the fans). The way they’ve shown their love and affection, I think that’s something I need to do for them,” Dhoni said.
Also Read: Complete International Schedule of Indian Cricket Team Post IPL 2023 Revealed (cricfiles.com)
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