Chennai Super Kings skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad had a young fan in stitches during a recent appearance, delivering a cheeky line that left even his teammates laughing. The clip, now making the rounds on social media, showed the fan asking whether Gaikwad was nervous about facing bouncers and beamers—joking that such deliveries would be dealt with. “What do you think about the bowlers? Are they fast? Aren’t you scared? Because bouncers and beamers will be bowled,” the youngster asked. Gaikwad’s response turned the moment on its head: “No. I was scared till a couple of years back. But then I got married. Now I’m more scared of my wife.”
CSK’s bowling coach Eric Simons then addressed another topic on Monday, clarifying that MS Dhoni has not travelled with the squad for the away match against Delhi Capitals. Simons also made it clear that while Dhoni remains on the road to full readiness, his progress has been steady despite missing action earlier this season due to a calf injury. With more than half the league campaign already completed, and CSK set to play their tenth match in a campaign that has not quite lived up to expectations, attention has naturally kept swinging back to the long-term future of the 44-year-old icon. Ever since his international retirement, speculation around Dhoni’s IPL plans has been a constant.
At the pre-match interaction, it was no surprise that the first question was about Dhoni, particularly because the veteran has been batting in the nets of late. Simons, however, kept things measured when asked about the next steps. “Update on MS Dhoni is way above my pay grade. He’s not with us (in Delhi), but he’s steadily improving. He’ll be ready when he’s ready, and he knows when he’s ready to play,” Simons said.
Simons also spoke about the bowling group’s output and highlighted Anshul Kamboj’s impact. The coach praised how Kamboj has contributed consistently across different phases, describing him as the joint-leading wicket-taker with 17 scalps. He explained that Kamboj’s progress extends beyond this season, pointing out that the work started last year and continued through the domestic stretch. “Anshul you see today is not this season—he started last year. The things that we worked on, he went into the domestic season and worked on different angles of approach to the crease to be more accurate with his yorkers in particular. We’ve introduced round the wicket, which is no secret now,” Simons said.
According to Simons, the effectiveness around the wicket is not just a change in direction but a set of details that add up to results. “There’s a lot of nuances to what we’re doing around the wicket that make him particularly effective. He’s picked up wickets and been able to restrict the run rate as well. But I think what it really boils down to is his professionalism, the way that he trains,” the coach added.
He further elaborated on what makes Kamboj’s preparation stand out, stressing clarity and simplicity in execution. “If you stood next to me and watched the way that he trains, the way that he understands what he’s going to do, the simplicity I spoke about, the clarity— I think in the modern game a bowler needs to be clear about what he wants to do. He’s very clear about his tactics, and he’s very clear about what his field setting is. There’s no grey area for him,” Simons concluded.
