Legendary Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni rolled back years with his iconic helicopter shot in the training session ahead of the IPL 2024 opener against Royal Challengers Bangalore at Chepauk Stadium. Dhoni, who is back with his long hairdo, looked in great touch in the nets and smashed the CSK bowlers for fun as batting coach Michael Hussey also observed the skipper from close quarters.

The speculations are rife that it might be the last season of Dhoni in IPL and he looks all geared up to make it a memorable one for himself and the big fanbase he enjoys across the country.

A video of Dhoni smashing the CSK bowlers in the nets has gone viral on social media. The legendary wicketkeeper batter can be seen connecting his iconic helicopter shot in the video as batting coach Hussey also had a word with him about his batting.

Dhoni used to come out to bat in the lower-middle order last season to manage his workload due to a knee injury. He played the entire season with an injury and underwent surgery after leading CSK to the joint-most fifth title. However, the fans are expecting him to move up in order so that they can enjoy their batting for a longer period.

The CSK skipper underwent knee surgery at Kokilaben Hospital in Mumbai last year and then worked hard on his fitness to get ready for the cash-rich league.

Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanathan recently told media reporters, “He has recovered well (from his knee injury). He is undergoing his rehab programmes, started training. By the time the next IPL starts, I am sure he will be fit to play.”

CSK will start their title defence against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the season opener of the IPL 2024, at Chepauk, on March 22.

They started their preparatory camp on March 2, with the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Mukesh Choudhary and Prashant Solanki joining the camp initially and later the other players joined them.

CSK suffered an injury blow before the beginning of the season as New Zealand opener Devon Conway is expected to miss at least the first half of the tournament after undergoing thumb surgery. Conway’s sustained a blow on his finger during New Zealand’s third T20I against Australia.