"Singam in Surat" - MS Dhoni arrives in Surat for CSK camp ahead of IPL 2022

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni arrived in Surat on Wednesday for the franchise's pre-IPL 2022 practice camp.

According to a recent report in The Times of India, the camp will run for 20 days in the city of Gujarat beginning on March 2. The Lalbhai Contractor Stadium will host the evening practice and fitness sessions for the defending champions. Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo are set to participate in the camp.

CSK shared a photo of the legendary skipper leaving his car with the hashtags "SingaminSurat" and "THA7A".

IPL 2022 will be played between March 26 to May 29. 55 league matches will be held in Mumbai while 15 matches will be hosted in Pune. Nainesh Desai, the cricket secretary of the Surat District Cricket Association (SDCA), told TOI that they have developed pitches similar to Mumbai. He said:

“Top cricketing stars like MS Dhoni, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja and other national and international stars will be part of the practice camp. The cricket franchise selected Surat as we have developed pitches using the same soil as it is in Mumbai."

Hemant Contractor, president of the SDCA, was also quoted in the report confirming that no spectators will be allowed to witness the camp. He said:

“Due to the biobubble, no spectators will be allowed at the stadium and we expect that people of Surat will support us in maintaining the players infection free. Such events put the city in the country’s cricketing map and we hope to get national and international cricket events here."

CSK is part of Group B of the tournament which also includes SunRisers Hyderabad, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Punjab Kings and Gujarat Titans. The IPL champions will play two league matches against all Group B teams, two against Mumbai Indians and one match each against the rest of the teams in the leadup to the playoffs.

MS Dhoni to play a crucial role in CSK's IPL 2022 campaign

CSK managed to retain some of their core players in the IPL 2022 Auction and build a balanced side. However, without the experience and flair of Faf du Plessis and Suresh Raina, the batting order looks a bit light. Dhoni will thus be central to CSK's defense of the title with both his leadership and batting skills.

Last year, apart from his brilliant match-winning cameo in Qualifier 1, the 40-year-old wicketkeeper-batter had his worst season with the bat as he could only collect 114 runs at an average of 16.29 and a strike rate of 106.54. But he will be hoping for a better showing this time around.