The former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir has questioned CSK captain MS Dhoni’s batting position in the side and expresses the need to lead from the front.
Chennai Super Kings lost their first match against Delhi Capitals by seven wickets. Dhoni got out on duck off the second ball he faced as DC’s Avesh Khan cleaned him up.
Gambhir, who has led Kolkata Knight Riders to two IPL championships in 2012 and 2014, believes that a captain should be leading by example.
“We keep mentioning this thing that a leader needs to lead from the front. You can’t be leading, when you’re batting at No.7. MS Dhoni should be batting higher, that’s what matters because ultimately people should start leading from the front. Yes, there are issues in their bowling lineup.”
Gambhir quoted on Star Sports show Cricket Live.
Gambhir feels Dhoni should be batting higher up in the order as he’s not the same Dhoni of yesteryears, who can come in and whack the ball from get go.
“Plus, he is not the MS Dhoni, which he used to be probably four or five years back, where he could just come in and start taking on the bowlers from the word go. For me, I think he needs to bat at number four [or] five. Nothing below that,”
Gambhir concluded.
In their second match, CSK annihilated PBKS as they restricted Punjab to 106-8 in 20 overs. In response, CSK chased down the target with ease by six wickets. But once again, Dhoni didn’t come out to bat in the top 6.
Dhoni hasn’t had the best of times in IPL since last year. In IPL 2020, Dhoni could only score 200 runs at an average of 25 and a low strike rate of 116.3. Chennai Super Kings also failed to reach the playoffs for the first time in the history of IPL.
CSK next match is scheduled against Rajasthan Royals at Wankhede Stadium on April 19th. Currently, CSK are placed at the second position in the points table with a win and a loss. Their Net Run Rate is spiked by the PBKS thrashing, now at +0.616.
