IPL 2021: "MS Dhoni should bat higher for CSK" – Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar questioned MS Dhoni’s decision to bat at No.7 for Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) after the side’s seven-wicket loss at the hands of Delhi Capitals (DC) in Mumbai in the second match of IPL 2021.
The Indian cricket legend wants the CSK skipper to bat higher in the line-up and take more responsibility in guiding the other batters.
MS Dhoni was dismissed for a duck in the 16th over. Since his retirement announcement from international cricket in 2020, the former India captain has played 15 IPL matches and scored only 200 runs at 22.22, striking at 114.9.
His form has hurt Chennai, who suffered their worst season in IPL 2020 and finished in seventh spot. Speaking to Star Sports at the end of the match, Sunil Gavaskar said:
“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 will bat only the last 4-5 overs.
"But he also needs to guide the team a little. He has 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. Dhoni too needs to come up the order somewhere down the line; that is the way he can control the game.”
Not reading too much into Dhoni’s fourth duck ever in the IPL, Gavaskar added:
“He was out to the second 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.”
CSK have enough depth in the batting with Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar forming the No.9 to 11. Despite them not batting, the Chennai-based franchise piled up 188.
CSK will need extra runs: Sunil Gavaskar
With dew playing a role in CSK's loss against DC in Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, Gavaskar believes the team will need extra runs to give their battered bowlers some cushion in order to regain their confidence.
A 188-run target set by CSK wasn’t enough, with Delhi winning the match with eight balls to spare. DC openers Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw were off to an attacking start, piling up a century stand.
“The bowling is going to take some time to recover because of the pounding it took. So they have got to score more runs,” Sunil Gavaskar added.
CSK, the three-time IPL champions, have a six-day break before they play their next game. They will face Punjab Kings at the same venue on Friday.