0
0
While the whole world is focused on the India team and its preparation for the Champions Trophy, this gentleman is in his own league – preparing himself for yet another IPL season for Chennai Super Kings. MS Dhoni is still at it. He is really relentless. Doing the same thing over and over again. Forget the age, it’s all about mileage when it comes to MSD.
When CricBlogger caught up with the towering Dhoni inside the very well-managed JSCA stadium in Ranchi at the stroke of noon recently, he was still the same old Dhoni. Bearing his famous trademark smile, MSD doesn’t shrug from his regular routine of tireless work-outs.
Those who are still wondering as to how Dhoni remains so match-fit and agile, it is all about a mindset. He keeps working out even when some of his colleagues have given up on the game years ago. Exactly around the late morning, he walks to the JSCA stadium and straight away goes to the gym for at least an hour of work-out before hitting the nets for at least two hours or even more depending on the his mood.
The entire training session is so well planned that those who watch him train can’t believe that he is an uncapped player in the IPL. The training is so intense that even a current Indian player can’t match his stamina. He is like an engine and is still able to power the franchise on his own.
The CSK camp for IPL will tentatively begin from February 20th onwards but MSD’s drills had started last December itself. Gradually, the momentum increases as it draws closer to the IPL.
So how does MSD prepare for an IPL season without playing domestic and international cricket and still compete with current players? The gym he does right at the start of the training is followed by three sets of target batting practice. At least twice a week, MSD bats for over two hours just blocking the ball. Another couple of sessions are spent on just hitting the ball and taking ones and twos in the nets. The net bowlers and staff who load the ball inside the bowling machine get tired, but no MSD.
Wondering how he can still smash sixes right after coming to the crease? MSD actually spends nearly five hours in a week practicing hitting sixes. On those days, he doesn’t block the ball and hit the ball for singles and twos. He comes hard on the ball and whacks it like he has been doing for years. The best part of the story is that when he smashes the ball, he doesn’t care about fours, he only wants to hit a six and if he get a four in the bargain he doesn’t mind it.
The work-out process is so breathtakingly engaging that even loads of sugar and milk in his tea, which he keeps sipping while doing his drills, doesn’t affect his system.
Despite hitting the mid-forties, his metabolism is good because of his daily work-out. As time is approaching for his last week work-out before joining the CSK camp, his training method is going to get even more intense. The only relaxation is when he goes out for lunch with a very few fiends from the JSCA stadium. He has a quick and quite lucnch in an undisclosed location in Ranchi. That is only once a week. Otherwise, he is always home-bound — again playing mean machines!
