Piyush Chawla said that Dhoni didn't look rusty when he arrived at the CSK camp ahead of the scheduled start of IPL 2020.
Former Indian captain MS Dhoni famously returned in cricket gear earlier this year when he joined Indian Premier League franchise Chennai Super Kings for the 13th edition of the tournament. He took part in the practice sessions in Chennai alongside other team regulars like Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu and Murali Vijay. However, the tournament was initially suspended and later postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Piyush Chawla, who was bought by the CSK ahead of the IPL this year, was also the part of the sessions. He opened up on Dhoni's game-play during the practice, insisting that he looked in form.
"Honestly speaking, whenever a cricketer makes a comeback after such a long break, people think that he will be a bit rusty. But I am sure he was doing something at Ranchi because when Dhoni landed in the camp, he didn't look rusty at all," Chawla told Aakash Chopra on the latter's YouTube channel.
"His routine work was -- he played five-six balls and then used to clear the fence."
Chawla further said that the batsmen played for longer periods of time throughout the sessions.
"He batted for long. In fact, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Dhoni and Murali Vijay....there were limited players in the camp and there were a number of bowlers. So everyone batted for long - 2-2:30 hours every day. Every batsman played 200-250 balls," said Chawla.
MS Dhoni's last appearance in competitive cricket came in 2019 when he played for India in the 2019 World Cup. Ever since he made himself unavailable for selection, Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul have taken the wicketkeeper-batsman's spot in the limited-overs format.
