MS Dhoni shares his 'absurd' sleep timetable, secret behind IPL form

An Indian Premier League (IPL) and Indian cricket legend, MS Dhoni is a man whose longevity in the T20 league is second to none.

An Indian Premier League (IPL) and Indian cricket legend, MS Dhoni is a man whose longevity in the T20 league is second to none.

Even at the age of 42, Dhoni continues to create a big impact for his franchise, Chennai Super Kings. But, what's the secret behind Dhoni's brilliance in the T20 league over all these years?

In a video shared by the official broadcaster of Star Sports, Dhoni revealed that it's his sleep timetable, which has been described as absurd by many, that continues to help him remain fresh for IPL games.

In the video, a younger Dhoni could be heard as saying, "According to some of them it was one of the most absurd time-table one could have but over the years it only helped me. Five-seven days before the IPL starts, I would start thinking like that and I would start training my mind like that. The plus point we had that we used to try to catch the flight that was after 12."

"What I used to do is that I would sleep very late because when the matches are on, from 8 to 11-11.30 is the schedule, after that post-match presentations then you would pack your kit bag, there would be late dinner. By the time you reach back to the hotel, it's almost 1-1:15. After that you have to pack your belongings in the hotel, leave the kit bag outside and by the time you do all of that, it's pretty late, let's say around 2:30," he added.

"So instead of sleeping from 10 pm to 6 am or 11 pm to 7 am, I would sleep from 3 am to 11 am. So the minimum 8 hours sleep that I need, that I have to do for sure. I was always well-rested at night, never felt fatigued after the IPL got over," Dhoni concluded in the video.