The Indian Premier League has passed the halfway mark and while the storylines have moved ahead at breakneck speed, one bit has lingered on since the start of the tournament.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni is still looking to play his first game of the season for Chennai Super Kings. And since Dhoni is still the leader of the franchise, in spirit at least, following his fitness updates has become a daily ritual for Chennai's gargantuan fan base.
When the season started, it was announced that Dhoni would be unavailable for the first two weeks due to a calf injury, on top of the long-standing knee issue.
But after nearly a month, there is very little clarity on when or if Dhoni will make a return.
Following Chennai's defeat to Gujarat on Sunday, Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming said: “He [Dhoni] is pretty keen. The calf is a tough one. If he takes off and rips the calf again, then he will be gone.
“We pushed it early. In the warm-up game, he tweaked it again. And since then, he has been just working hard to get some movement into it.
“He is the guide on this one, and he is working hard with the physio and doing all the rehab.”
That has been the line used by the Chennai franchise for three seasons now, especially following a major knee surgery in 2023. Since then, every IPL season has been about whether this will be Dhoni's last.
One must give credit to Dhoni and the Super Kings for maintaining this mystery about availability and future plans. One can understand the proclivity for it, though. Up until this season, Dhoni was the biggest name and leader in the entire franchise. Chennai fans, many of them at least, struggled to even imagine IPL beyond Dhoni. It did not matter to them that the champion is 44.
But this season, that option has been taken away from them. Dhoni has been physically unable to take the field. And even if he was, it was probably time to make the team and fans learn to live without him.
While captain Ruturaj Gaikwad is slipping further down the pecking order as a batter and leader, the Super Kings have found the ideal replacement for Dhoni – a star wicketkeeper batter in Sanju Samson. Plus, Samson speaks excellent Tamil, the local language.
Samson has brought his vintage form from the T20 World Cup to the IPL, smashing two centuries in eight games.
Chances are, this term won't be as bad as last year, when Chennai finished bottom of the table. Play-offs are still a mathematical chance after three wins in eight games, especially because they have a decent in-form local batting line-up and their bowlers are earnest and effective, if not eye-catching.
Sure, there is always space for Dhoni to play just as a ball-stopper behind the stumps. His game awareness is still exceptional, even if his own batting powers might have waned.
Dhoni's mere presence on the field would mean full stands for every Chennai match and could turn a few close moments in his team's favour.
But Chennai have reached this far – away from the bottom of the table – without any intervention from the legend and their supporters should not lose too much sleep if the team gives qualification a try without Dhoni.
This season is technically still alive for the Super Kings, although they might be required to win five out of their remaining six matches to qualify for the play-offs.
And if Dhoni does turn up for any of the remaining matches, all members of the team will gladly make way for the great one.
