Ex- India allrounder Reetinder Sodhi believes the great MS Dhoni is no longer the batter he was in his peak days and must subsequently make a shift in the batting order for Chennai Super Kings ahead of the Indian Premier League 2022.
Before the tournament begins with defending champions CSK taking on last year’s runners-up Kolkata Knight Riders on March 26 in Mumbai, Sodhi reckons Dhoni must adjust his position in the batting order given he is no longer the “finisher” he was in his heyday.
Dhoni rewind the clock with a vintage finish in the Qualifier 1 of IPL 2021 against Delhi Capitals in Dubai, scoring an unbeaten 18 off just six balls when CSK required another 24 runs from the last two overs. He smashed Indian pacer Avesh Khan for three fours in the final over to finish off the game like he used to.
But such performances have become rare off the bat of the CSK captain, who has endured a major dip in his power-hitting skills since the start of IPL 2020. Over the last two seasons of IPL, Dhoni has made just 314 runs across 23 innings with an average of 20.93 and a horrible strike-rate of 112.54. The 40-year-old has managed only 28 fours and 10 sixes in this timeframe and has recorded no half-centuries. His best has been 47 not out.
Perhaps mindful of his own diminishing batting abilities, Dhoni has tried to languish down the order and allow the more in-form batters to take the onus of various situations. But Sodhi said that is a risky scenario, for that could leave CSK dependent on Dhoni’s waning powerhitting game in a critical game of the tournament.
“MS Dhoni has to bat up the order because he is no longer the same finisher that he was known to be a few years back. If he takes his time, comes in the 10th or 11th over, he can hit the lusty blows later. MS Dhoni knows that he is the key to CSK’s prospects.”
Sodhi told India News.
While his batting has been on an unarrested decline, Dhoni remains CSK’s strongest pillar with his undoubted captaincy credentials, including clarity of thinking, safe and flexible plans and a deeper understanding of the resources up his sleeves.
In many ways, Dhoni has accentuated the impact of some of his players through sheer clarity of roles they are playing and giving them assurity of not losing their spot even if they happen to fail for a few games.
In the last edition of the IPL, he used CSK’s batting depth and multiple bowling options to play out positive match-ups, and that allowed his team to script an inspirational comeback after the disastrous first-round exit in UAE back in 2020.
One player who has flourished under Dhoni in the CSK set-up is their premier Indian allrounder Ravindra Jadeja. A handy left-arm spinner if used at the right times, Jadeja has remarkably turned a corner with a bat in hand as well. He has been an incredible powerhitter for the side since the start of IPL 2020.
Jadeja has recorded a strike-rate of 157.73 while averaging 57.37 with the bat in the last two editions of the IPL. No wonder it emerged as a no-brainer when CSK retained him as their wealthiest pick at INR 16 crores before the IPL 2022 mega auction.
Sodhi said Jadeja’s form with the bat will be very “important” to CSK’s cause again.
