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The players of Chennai Super Kings have kicked off their preparation for the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League. As per pictures that are doing the rounds on social media, CSK skipper MS Dhoni attended net sessions at Lalbhai Contractor Stadium in Surat with his CSK teammates. Notably, Dhoni arrived in Surat on March 2 for the pre-IPL 2022 practice camp.
As per reports, the CSK camp will run for 20 days in Surat at Lalbhai Contractor Stadium. Dhoni, Dwayne Bravo, Ambati Rayudu are some of the players that are attending the net sessions. The cash-rich league, which is slated to start from March 26 to May 29, will have 55 league matches in Mumbai, and 15 matches will be hosted in Pune. Earlier, CSK management decided to shift their camp to Surat at Lalbhai Contractor Stadium as the soil which is used to create pitches there is from Mumbai. The pitches also have a lot of resemblance to pitches in Mumbai.
Nainesh Desai, the cricket secretary, was reportedly quoted saying, "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."
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He reportedly informed that due to bio-bubble, no spectators will be allowed at the stadium and urged the people of Surat to maintain distance from the players. "Such events put the city in the country’s cricketing map and we hope to get national and international cricket events here," he said. The Chennai franchise is part of Group B, including Sunrisers Hyderabad, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Punjab Kings and Gujarat Titans. The defending champions will play two league matches against all Group B teams, two against Mumbai Indians and one against the rest of the teams in the leadup to the playoffs. CSK retained some of its core players in the IPL 2022 auction and built a balanced side. However, Faf du Plessis and Suresh Raina are notable omissions from the franchise.
