Afghan spinner Noor Ahmad of the Chennai Super Kings has finally returned the team's faith in him. In Tuesday's IPL 2026 match against the Kolkata Knight Riders, the wrist-spinner put on a game-winning display with statistics of 3 for 21 in 4 overs. After a run of subpar performances this season, the CSK camp was thrilled to see Noor return to form. However, the reason for this turnaround was a conversation and some words of support from the team's legend, MS Dhoni.
The adjustments Noor made to his bowling against KKR were disclosed by CSK bowling coach Sridharan Sriram at the post-match press conference. Dhoni deserves a lot of credit for this, as he had a thorough conversation with the spinner during a training session.

"It went well. Today, the wicket was helpful. He had a small amount of turn. It moved a little more slowly through the air today, but the other wickets are quite level. Following the Super Kings' victory over the Knight Riders, bowling coach Sridharan Sriram remarked, "There was more side spin on the ball and more drop."He has been working on that. During one of the practice sessions, MS even had a lengthy conversation with him about starting his leg-break. "I believe it was really beneficial today, and the outcomes were visible," he remarked.Noor has taken four wickets in five IPL 2026 games, three of which were against Kolkata. The bowling coach for Chennai claims that the type of wickets being used this season is partially to blame for the early wicketless run.He has been focusing on getting some variation off the surface since it is crucial. Everyone acknowledges that there will be days when wickets are flat, but if you want to be aggressive, spinning the ball with revs can help. That's how you make mistakes," Sriram clarified.He was either a little too full or a little too short in his first over. He got quite challenging to play once he discovered that in-between length.

Sriram believes that Noor is a superb student of the game, thus he anticipates that the Afghan spinner will continue to perform well in the upcoming IPL matches.His ability to move late is one of his advantages. The ball glides slowly and he has excellent release. It becomes challenging for batters when he regularly gets it correctly."He is an excellent student of the game. He analyses where to put his fielders, analyses batters, and knows what bowling speeds to use. He arrives ready.