Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni
Following Chennai Super Kings' crushing seven-wicket defeat against Delhi Capitals in IPL 2021, legendary India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has questioned MS Dhoni's decision to bat down the order. The CSK skipper came in the middle at No.7 position after the likes of Ravindra Jadeja and Ambati Rayudu but departed on a two-ball duck.
The man who followed Dhoni at No. 8, Sam Curran, got a 15-ball 34 to help CSK post a challenging 188/7 on the board. In reply, Capitals' opening duo of Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw built a century stand to guide their side to an impressive win at Wankhede.
"As far as Chennai Super Kings are concerned, MS Dhoni has to take a call on his batting order. Deep down, he might be thinking he is going to bat only the last 4-5 overs. But he also needs to guide the team a little.
"He is got a team of some youngsters, even Sam Curran is not too old when it comes to international experience. But he batted really well, so yes, maybe have Curran bat higher up the order," Gavaskar told Star Sports.
"But at the same time, MSD needs to come up the order somewhere down the line, that is the way, he can control the game. He was out to the 2nd ball that he faced, and that can happen to anyone. But as the tournament progresses, he needs to come up a little bit, maybe at 6 or 5 and show the way," he added.
Trying to pull a delivery to the mid-wicket boundary, Dhoni was bowled off pacer Avesh Khan's delivery. Dhoni also had a mediocre season in the UAE last year where he managed to score 200 runs in 14 matches at an average of just 25. It was Dhoni's lowest aggregate in an IPL season.
Gavaskar also said CSK's bowling attack will take some time to recover from the 'pounding' it took on Saturday. "The bowling is going to take some time to recover because of the pounding it took. So they have got to score more runs," he said.
Eyeing to register their first win of IPL 2021, the Chennai-based outfit will next take on Punjab Kings on April 16 at Wankhede.
