IPL 2025: Ruturaj Gaikwad speaks on MS Dhoni’s ball-striking and agelessness | Ipl News

Ahead of Chennai Super Kings’ Indian Premier League opener against Mumbai Indians, MS Dhoni spoke about how long he would continue to play for CSK.
“I can play for as long as I want for CSK. That’s my franchise. Even if I’m in a wheelchair, they’ll drag me,” he said on JioHotstar ahead of the match against Mumbai Indians.
Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad emphasised that Dhoni being on the team was beneficial for many of the newer players, who were still struggling to hit as well the long-time CSK player was doing ahead of the start of their season.
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“A lot of new players have joined the team and sometimes they struggle to strike the ball as good as he is striking it right now. So, definitely it inspires a lot of us including myself,” Gaikwad said. “So, whatever he is doing at the age of 43, I think it is remarkable. We have certain strengths that we have been following since the last two years. So, I think nothing much really changes and hopefully he will continue to deliver those crucial knocks for us,” he added.
Gaikwad then spoke about the kind of training that Dhoni had been subjecting himself to ahead of the season opener, and said that there were specific target areas that the 43-year-old was working on.
“I think his training is very much limited to whatever he tries to achieve or whatever his role would be in the IPL. So, it is pretty much very simple, focused on trying to hit as many as sixes as possible and trying to get the right swing, trying to be in the best shape,” said Gaikwad.
“That is what I think initially he was trying to do and then I never thought he was out of shape. If you see now, even Sachin Tendulkar is batting (in the Master’s league) as great as he is right now at the age of 50. So, I think there are still many years to go (for Dhoni),” he said.