CHENNAI: Come Indian Premier League 2025, former India and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni may wield lighter bats. Since his under-19 days, Dhoni has been using bats weighing around 1200 grams while his teammates were using lighter ones. The weight gradually increased as he graduated to the senior level.
However, at 43, the most successful Indian captain is expected to bring down the weight of his bat by around 10-20 grams. "Four bats have been delivered to Dhoni recently by Sanspareils Greenlands Pvt. Ltd, the cricket equipment company from Meerut," a source in the know of the things told this daily. Suresh Raina, former India all-rounder and Dhoni's ex-CSK teammate, also confirmed the same while commentating during the India-Pakistan match on Sunday.
"Each bat weighs around 1230 grams with the same shape as before," added the source. Reduction in weight can be seen as a natural progression. "His bats were always heavier than ours," one of Dhoni's former teammates, who had played age-group and senior domestic cricket with him, told this daily. In his prime, Dhoni was one of the few players to use a middle-weight bat, which weighed between 1250 to 1300 grams.
Meanwhile, Dhoni's training schedule ahead of the IPL season has yet not been finalised and so is his arrival in Chennai. "The schedule of training has not been finalised yet. Anyway, the MA Chidambaram Stadium cannot be used for training purposes till March 9 as the BCCI has given strict instructions to maintain the venue in optimal conditions," a source from CSK management told this daily.
There is also a possibility of the players from the franchise training at the CSK High Performance Centre which is located on the outskirts of the city.
It is also learnt that Dhoni trained with the bowling machine at the indoor facility of the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi a few weeks ago. "He used to train at the indoor facility. As there was no team camping here at the venue that time, he was training with the bowling machine. He also played a friendly tennis match on the opening day of a tournament played here," a Jharkhand State Cricket Association official told this daily.
Given his immense popularity, Dhoni's every move is watched keenly no matter where he plays. And if he actually wields light weight bats, it is highly unlikely that the move will go unnoticed.
