"I don't think half the team was fit"- Ambati Rayudu humorously dismisses MS Dhoni's fitness concerns in IPL 2024

Former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batter Ambati Rayudu claimed with his own witty humor that legendary wicketkeeper MS Dhoni need not be 100 percent fit to have an impact in the IPL 2024 season. Rayudu recalled his time with CSK where he won the title in the 2018, 2021, and 2023 editions of the league.

Speaking about his maiden season with the men in Yellow, Rayudu revealed that almost half the players in the Chennai Super Kings team played without being completely fit and still got the job done.

Here's what Ambati Rayudu had to say on Star Sports Press Room about MS Dhoni's dodgy knee and the ability of the players to play with niggles:

"I think with CSK, since the time I joined in 2018, I don't think half the team was fit (laughs). Most of us were carrying (niggles). With Mahi Bhai (Dhoni), I don't think he has been fully fit for the past 3-4 years. But whenever the time has come, the crucial matches come, he has always stood up."

Ambati Rayudu had a stellar IPL 2018 with the bat, scoring 602 runs in 16 games at a brilliant average of 43 and a strike rate of 149.75. That season helped him make a remarkable return to the Indian ODI team.

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Ambati Rayudu recalled an incident involving MS Dhoni and Shane Watson

Ambati Rayudu shed light on how CSK knew that their fielding was probably not their best suit back then. He also shared an anecdote about how MS Dhoni used to tell Shane Watson to not risk himself in the field.

On this, he told Star Sports:

"Every game we used to think that if the par score was 180, we would give 200 because of our fielding. Mahi bhai always used to tell Shane Watson, 'You're not moving. If the ball comes straight to you, you catch it. You don't dive. We want you to bat'."

Despite their fielding woes, CSK won the title and Rayudu feels one of the main reasons for the same was their ability to get the best out of the resources they had.