It is never easy to read MS Dhoni’s mind. The former India and Chennai Super Kings’ skipper has his own unique way of performing the given tasks. Be it tactical moves or his decision-making with a willow in hand, Dhoni has flummoxed the cricketing world on numerous occasions.
In the ongoing IPL, Dhoni once more befuddled all fans by taking his guard at the lowly No. 9 slot, in CSK’s most recent game versus Punjab Kings in Dharamshala on Sunday afternoon. Incidentally, it was the first time ever in his T20 career that Dhoni played at that position. Not just Moeen Ali and Ravindra Jadeja, Mitchell Santner and Shardul Thakur were sent ahead of Dhoni.
So, that brings up the question – why is Dhoni increasingly batting down the order? One of the obvious reasons would be that he is now 42 years old and is at the fag end of his illustrious career. So, it makes sense to try others up the order – Ravindra Jadeja, Sameer Rizvi, Moeen Ali and company.
In that backdrop, Harbhajan Singh, the former India cricketer, had some interesting words to say. “MS Dhoni shouldn’t play if he wants to bat at the No.9 slot. It is better to include a fast bowler than him in the playing XI. He is the decision-maker and has let down his team by not coming out to bat.
“Shardul Thakur came ahead of him. Thakur can never hit shots like Dhoni and I don’t understand why Dhoni made this mistake. Nothing happens without his permission and I am not ready to accept that this decision to demote him was taken by someone else,” the former off-spinner said on Star Sports.
Irfan Pathan, another former Dhoni teammate, also observed: “MS Dhoni batting at No.9 doesn’t work for CSK, it doesn’t help the team’s cause. I know that he is 42, but he is in solid form. He should be taking the responsibility of batting up the order. He should bat for at least four to five overs. He is batting for the last over or last two overs and that doesn’t serve the purpose for CSK for a long term,” he told the official broadcaster.
Rahul Chahar has regained his form. Despite PBKS’ loss to CSK, the leggie showed guile.
✍🏻 @VTrips_7781#RahulChahar #CSKvsPBKS #IPL2024https://t.co/j81U0eXiUW
— RevSportz (@RevSportz) May 5, 2024
Honestly, Harbhajan’s criticism sounds a bit too harsh, as Dhoni has made contributions — – be it his whirlwind innings against Mumbai Indians or the 9-ball 28 while facing Lucknow Super Giants. Although Dhoni’s cameo couldn’t help CSK usurp LSG but his 4-ball 20 versus MI proved to be a telling difference between the two sides. It is also true that on occasions, Dhoni has batted up the order at 5 or 6, but even then, he has come out to bat with just a few deliveries left.
For a moment, explore further into Dhoni’s batting-position-puzzle and you would observe that Moeen and in particular Jadeja haven’t exactly fired on all cylinders. The former has a strike rate of 126.53 in this IPL, while Jadeja’s strike rate stands at 135.57. Both those players’ strike rates are clearly on the lower side compared to the norm. So, wouldn’t it help CSK if Dhoni moves up the order on a consistent basis?
Having marshalled CSK’s resources since the inaugural IPL season in 2008, Dhoni is now a father-figure to the side. Despite relinquishing captaincy duties, Dhoni is like the third eye of the franchise. In other words, when it comes to tactical smarts and strategies, the wicketkeeper is generally the go-to man. Just that, from CSK’s point of view, any slot below six seems a little too low for a batter who can still play power-packed shots. Dhoni, however, has his own unique approach to the game, and to be fair, it has served him well over the years.