MS Dhoni arrived in Chennai in February to prepare for IPL 2025. He doesn't play any cricket in between. He's 43 years old. And he remains as important to Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) chances of success as he has ever been, performing the same role that he used to play - the finisher - but in a reduced capacity: batting for a couple of overs, trying to hit everything out of the ground.
"I think his training is very much limited to whatever he tries to achieve," Ruturaj Gaikwad, the CSK captain, said on the eve of their game against Mumbai Indians. "Or whatever his role would be in the IPL. So, it is pretty much very simple, focused on trying to hit as much as sixes as possible and trying to get the right swing, trying to be in the best shape.
"That is what I think initially he was trying to do. And then I never thought he was out of shape even on the first day. So, I think obviously he is special - he's done it for so many years.
"So, definitely that always will be there. If you see now even Sachin Tendulkar is batting as great as he is right even now at the age of 50 [51]. So, I think still many years to go."
Dhoni recently spoke about his cricket career, which began way back in 2005, and how he sees himself playing for a few years yet.
"I want to enjoy it," he said at the launch of one of his apps last month, "how I did as a child when I was in school. When I lived in a colony, 4 o'clock (in the afternoon) was sports time, so we'll go and play cricket more often than not. But if the weather doesn't permit, we used to play football. I want to play with the same kind of innocence (but it is) easier said than done."
CSK are enjoying the benefits of that. "I mean everyday we get to see him," Gaikwad said. "Obviously, it inspires [us] a lot. A lot of new players have joined the team and sometimes they, as professional cricketers, struggle to strike the ball as good as he is striking it right now.
"So, definitely it inspires a lot of us including myself, including everyone from the group. So, whatever he is doing at the age of 43, I think it is remarkable. It is really commendable.
"And definitely, he will be looking to contribute in the best way he can. But I mean we have certain strengths that we have been following since last two years. So, I think nothing much really changes and hopefully he will continue to deliver those crucial knocks for us."
CSK are known to stick to a set formula, especially when playing at home, and now their XI is likely to include three high quality spinners. "When you have someone like [R] Ashwin and [Ravindra] Jadeja and we have Noor [Ahmed]. I think we always wanted someone in our bowling department who can be an aggressive bowler, who can come in and take wickets at regular intervals. And there were very few in the auction pool. So, we wanted to get the best whoever is available, and I think Noor is right up there. So, hopefully if conditions suit us, definitely he will be a great threat for opposition."
Chepauk has a history of assisting spinners, but that wasn't the case last season. It's resulted in them relying on their fast bowlers in recent seasons. Death-overs specialist Matheesha Pathirana is their second-highest wicket-taker since making his debut in 2022. Pathirana appears to have made a change to his bowling action, where his arm is a little higher than it used to be on release. CSK lost him to injury towards the back end of last season, when they were unable to make the playoffs.
"He [Pathirana] is definitely in a good shape and we had a good look at him in the practice game that we had," Gaikwad said. "But what this year we have done in the options as well, I think we have got very good fast bowlers as back-ups.
"We have Mukesh [Choudhary] who is bowling really well. We have Khaleel [Ahmed] as well, who is right up there in the Indian team. Anshul Kamboj has done really well in the domestic circuit. Gurjapneet [Singh] is there. [Kamlesh] Nagarkoti is there, who really impressed me in the pre-season. So, we have a good set of fast bowlers this year. We have [Nathan] Ellis as well. So, I think I am not really worried about that back-up option. But it is always good to have Pathirana in the team. But as I said, I am not really worried about if he is there or not."