MS Dhoni was crystal clear in his thoughts: CSK CEO Viswanathan opens up about pre-IPL 2020 training camp

Chennai Super Kings, unlike other franchises, held a 5-day training camp in Chennai before MS Dhoni’s men left for the UAE for Indian Premier LEague (IPL ) 2020. Dhoni led the camp which was attended by quite a few Indian players from August 15 to 20.

CSK took the mandatory Covid-19 tests and trained in a bio-bubble at the MA Chidambaram Stadium after getting the necessary clearances from the Tamil Nadu government.

Speaking about the pre-IPL training camp, CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan said it was MS Dhoni’s idea to have local players assemble in Chennai for the camp before they left for the UAE. Dhoni and his men reached Dubai on August 21 and have been in quarantine, following the protocols issued by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

“When we announced the tournament is going to happen, I had reservations about conducting the camp here because the bio-bubble had to be created. In fact sent a message to him (asking) whether it will be worthwhile having a camp for 5 days before going to Dubai. But the captain was crystal clear in his thoughts,” Viswanathan said in a YouTube video for CSK.

“He (Dhoni) said ‘sir, we have not played for nearly 4-5 months. All of us need to get together in Chennai. We should be in a bio-bubble in Chennai so that we get used to that when we land in Dubai’.

“And also it helped in the boys getting in shape. This camp, though we had some reservations, has really helped. I am very happy we were able to host the camp.”

Apart from MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina who announced international retirements after landing in Chennai, the likes of Piyush Chawla, Murali Vijay, Deepak Chahar, Ambati Rayudu, Sai Kishore, Shardul Thakur were part of the camp. While foreign players skipped it, Harbhajan Singh and Ravindra Jadeja also gave it a miss due to personal reasons.

Ambati Rayudu said the camp helped the players get back into the mix after close to 5 months of inactivity in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

“To get us back into the mix, this is very, very important. Even when we go to Dubai, we have to quarantine for six days. So this is crucial,” Rayudu said.

“Now everyone is on the same page. No one has played cricket for 5 months. We all are equal. I think we will be better because we have the experience,” Chahar said.