'Better to play a pure bowler' - Former CSK star unhappy with MS Dhoni's batting position

Whenever Chennai Super Kings (CSK) play, the eyes are cast on MS Dhoni, who is no longer the captain of the unit and plays as a wicketkeeper-batter. Fans and viewers wait for Dhoni to give a glimpse of his batting and come out to bat, even if in the last over, and entertain them.

However, Dhoni has delayed his entry point as much as possible and hardly comes out to bat before the 18th over of the innings. The team would send lower-order batters like Shardul Thakur ahead of him if wickets fall quickly to let their ex-captain face minimal balls.

It has been a trend since the previous edition, for Dhoni reserves his firepower only for a few balls and comes out only to play a quickfire cameo with the willow. His game against spinners is almost non-existent, so all Dhoni wants is to whack pacers in the end and provide impetus to CSK’s innings.

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It has worked well so far, as Dhoni has done reasonably well by finding boundaries in quick successions against pacers in the final few overs since IPL 2023. His strike rate and balls-per-boundary ratio are among the best regarding power-hitting in death overs.

Harbhajan Singh unhappy with MS Dhoni’s late entry points

While CSK management seems happy with the move, Harbhajan Singh has expressed disappointment with MS Dhoni’s late entry points. On Star Sports, Harbhajan stated that CSK should play a bowler if Dhoni bats so low in the batting order.

"If MS Dhoni is coming to bat at number 9, then it's better to play a pure bowler. If you know you can't bat up the order, you should not play at all. 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."

One of the most prominent reasons for Dhoni’s low batting position is his knee surgery after last season. He has been wearing a kneecap during CSK games this IPL season.

Further, Dhoni is no longer the same force he used to be with the willow in his heydays. All this forces the team to allow him to face as few balls as possible and let him do his thing.

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