"Not as fit as I used to be" - MS Dhoni gives huge fitness update ahead of IPL 2025

Ahead of IPL 2025, former India captain MS Dhoni has acknowledged a dip in his fitness level. The 43-year-old will play his 18th IPL season in the upcoming edition, having been retained by the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as an uncapped player for ₹4 crore.

Following the 2023 season, Dhoni underwent treatment for a knee injury that had plagued him throughout the season and returned to full fitness in the 2024 campaign. He enjoyed an incredible 2024 season with the bat, averaging almost 54 at a strike rate of 220.54 in 14 outings.

Talking about his fitness on the Eurogrip Tyres YouTube channel, Dhoni said (as quoted by News18):

"I am not fit as I used to be, lot of efforts now needs to be there on what you are eating and I am doing very specific thing to be fit for cricket. We are not fast bowlers so our requirements are not that intense."

He added:

"What really helps me is playing a lot of sports in between eating and going to the gym. So whenever I get time I like to play a lot of different sports, may be tennis, badminton, football, that keeps me engaged. That’s the best way of being in touch with fitness."

Dhoni remains IPL's most successful captain with 133 wins in 226 outings, including leading CSK to five titles.

However, before the start of the 2024 season, he relinquished captaincy and was replaced by Ruturaj Gaikwad.

MS Dhoni's opens up on the 'controllable' in cricket

IPL 2023: Final - Chennai Super Kings v Gujarat Titans - Source: Getty

MS Dhoni believes recognizing the 'controllable' is the most important aspect of achieving success in cricket.

Similar to the IPL, Dhoni is India's most successful captain across formats with 178 wins in 332 matches.

"You first need to differentiate what is controllable. If you start complicating stuffs then it becomes very difficult to understand that. Like in cricket, people talk about what is cricket and then you come up with different explanations. One of the best way to play cricket for a batsman is you watch the ball and you react to whatever is bowled at you," Dhoni said in the same interview.

He added:

"For me controllable in cricket is I have to practice well, I have to eat well, I have to be fit, how much sleep I had before the game, how much hydration I had, how much I had tried to get information about the opposition."

Dhoni's last competitive outing came in CSK's final league-stage match against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), where the Yellow Army suffered a 27-run loss to be eliminated from IPL 2024.