Ex-India cricketer turned commentator Gautam Gambhir has said that MS Dhoni should bat higher up the order if Chennai Super Kings qualify for the playoffs. The star for India in two ICC finals back in the day, Gambhir has overseen a stupendous reign as KKR captain.
While speaking to Star Sports, Gautam said that MS Dhoni must bat up the order, at number 4, to accommodate batters lower down the order who can get going instantly. This season, Dhoni has scored 51 runs in the IPL and has struggled to bat the way he usually does.
However, his individual performance has not impacted Chennai Super Kings’ form. The Yellow Army have registered seven wins in nine games and are on the verge of confirming their berth in the playoffs with a lot of games left to play. Despite the odd concern over some of their middle-order batters, they don’t seem to be finding a problem in eventually getting that big result.
MS Dhoni, the former India captain who announced retirement from international cricket in August 2020, has remained out of touch with the game, and the rustiness in his game is palpably impacting his stroke play. His 51-run tally doesn’t bode well with his overall IPL numbers, which are as stupendous as a player can ask for.
Dhoni’s final season for Chennai Super Kings?
There are plenty of speculations surrounding the CSK captain’s future with the franchise, with the tournament heading into a mega auction after this edition. It seems like that the franchise will find another long-term captain in the auction, if this really is the final season of MS Dhoni’s association with the coveted franchise.
Under MS Dhoni’s captaincy, the Super Kings established themselves as one of the greatest T20 units of all time, winning the IPL three times and the Champions League two times. Only twice in his tenure as a captain in IPL did his side fail to reach the final four stages (RPS 2016 and CSK 2020) and reached the finals eight times.
