Playing in what almost certainly seems like his last IPL season, Dhoni has been handled carefully so far by the Chennai Super Kings management.

In CSK’s last game against PBKS at Dharamshala, they sent out Shardul Thakur ahead of Dhoni at No.8, with the wicketkeeper coming in at No.9. It was the first time in top flight cricket (internationals and IPL) that he was batting so far down the order. The move didn’t bring results as he was dismissed for a golden duck by a Harshal Patel slower yorker.

Dhoni’s demotion raised concerns over his fitness among fans and experts while many also questioned his value in the team if he was to come so far down the order. Speaking ahead of their game against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad tomorrow (May 10), CSK coach Fleming clarified the details over Dhoni’s fitness and explained why he has been batting down the order.

“Don’t worry about position, it’s time of the game that we’re looking at,” Fleming said at the pre-match press conference. “We’ve seen earlier on, when he recovered from knee surgery last year, which was quite debilitating for him, [that] there was a certain workload this year that he can manage.”

The CSK coach also clarified that despite his weakening knees, Dhoni doesn’t have problems running, but they don’t want to put him in a situation where he has to run a lot while batting.

“He can run. It’s just that he isn’t going to bat for a long period of time,” he said. “Keeping is fine. He’s very economical with his movements, so he can keep in his. His hands, his hand-eye [coordination] and speed is as good as anyone. So no problem with that.

“We’re just guarding against him batting for five or six overs and [having to] sprint every couple of balls. It’s a specific role we are using him for.”

CSK are currently fourth on the points table and have three games to go with 12 points in their bag. They would need at least two if not three wins out of three to secure qualification.