MS Dhoni successfully undergoes surgery to treat knee injury in Mumbai - Reports
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni has undergone surgery successfully to treat the knee injury that troubled him over the course of a title-winning Indian Premier League (IPL) season. The veteran player recently led CSK to a record-equalling fifth IPL title triumph with a win over the Gujarat Titans (GT) in the final.
He largely played as a lower-middle-order batter over the course of the campaign, much like in recent years, and was seen nursing a knee injury. He was slated to miss the first match of the season due to the niggle, but powered through to play all the matches over the course of IPL 2023. His knee was heavily strapped when he was seen in the dugout and during the post-match routines as well.
CSK CEO Kasi Vishwanathan confirmed that the surgery was successfully conducted at the Kokilaben Hospital in Mumbai.
"I spoke to him after the operation. I cannot explain what the surgery is about but we have been told it is a key-hole surgery. He sounded fine in our conversation," he told Cricbuzz.
According to the report, Dr. Dinshaw Pardiwala, a sports medicine specialist, operated on MS Dhoni. He was the same surgeon who operated on Rishabh Pant recently after he was transferred to Mumbai from Dehradun to treat multiple injuries sustained due to a car accident.
Dhoni's wife Sakshi was also by his side at the hospital after he was admitted right after the IPL 2023 final on May 31. The wicketkeeper-batter is expected to recover fully from the surgery in two months' time.
MS Dhoni aims to play in IPL 2024 should his fitness permit
Several expected the recently concluded IPL season to be MS Dhoni's final endeavor as a player. However, following an inevitable response from fans, who followed the franchise throughout the country, the title-winning skipper has put his retirement on hold.
Dhoni stated that he is open to playing the next season if his body permits.
"Circumstantially if you see, this is the best time to announce my retirement," he said during the post-match presentation following CSK's title win. "But the amount of love and affection I have been shown wherever I have been this year, the easy thing would be for me to say "Thank you very much", but the tough thing for me is to work hard for another 9 months and come back and play at least 1 more season of IPL."
"A lot depends on the body, I have 6-7 months to decide. It will be more like a gift from my side, it's not easy for me but that's a gift," he added.
Will the veteran be fit enough to play for CSK in IPL 2024? Let us know what you think.