Quantcast

Dhoni's diagnosis of 'bad' back injury

Super Kings skipper confident he won't miss any games despite being visibly hampered by back problem in Mohali

MS Dhoni is confident of taking on Rajasthan on Friday despite suffering from a "bad" back injury during his near match-winning innings against Kings XI Punjab on Sunday night.

The Indian veteran almost snatched victory for Chennai Super Kings in Mohali, hammering a career-best score of 79 not out as his side fell just five runs short of their victory target of 198.

Gayle, Dhoni turn back the clock

Dhoni needed treatment on his back during his 44-ball innings, which featured five sixes, and looked in discomfort at times when running between the wickets.

But the 36-year-old is hopeful of pushing through the pain and playing in Chennai's next match on Friday.

"It's bad," he said of the injury. "How bad it is, I don't know.

"God has given me enough power, I don't need to use my back a lot (when batting). The hands can do the job.

"We'll assess how bad it is. It shouldn't be too bad because I know what really happened. Once you know what kind of injury it is, it becomes slightly easy to get out of it.

"Also, we have three-four days now before the next game, so (there is) enough time.

Super Kings rule despite Calypso Carnage

"Also, I am quite used to playing with a few injuries; whether it is back, fingers, elbow or something else. So, you have to be tough and play out the game."

The injury to Dhoni has added to a tumultuous opening week of the tournament for Chennai in their first season back in the competition following a two-year ban for their role in a betting scandal.

India stars Suresh Raina, Kedhar Jadav and Murali Vijay have all missed games due to injury, as has South African Test skipper Faf du Plessis, while the franchise was forced to move their home games to Pune due to political tensions in Chennai.

Chennai claim opening IPL win in thriller

Despite the distractions, the Super Kings currently sit third on the ladder with two wins from three games and the prospect of their injured stars returning to full fitness in the coming weeks.

"I'm proud of the character we're showing," coach Stephen Fleming said. "We're hanging in.

"We're not too far away. We're scrapping and competing in every game we've played so far and we almost got across the line today (against Kings XI).

"To have two wins out of three with injuries and a bit of drama with our home ground, we'll probably take that."

Australian viewers can watch the 2018 season of the IPL exclusively on Fox Sports