“His batting has been much better than the rest” - Aakash Chopra on former CSK skipper MS Dhoni’s performance in IPL 2022
Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra has admitted that former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni’s performance with the bat in IPL 2022 has exceeded expectations. Chopra conceded that there were serious concerns over the veteran keeper-batter's form as he only plays in the IPL.
Although Chennai have lost all three of their IPL 2022 games so far, Dhoni has made an impact with the bat. He has registered scores of 50*, 16* and 23 in the three games.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra stated that the former skipper has done better than some others in the team who are still playing international cricket. He commented:
"The truth is that MS Dhoni is batting well even though he is no longer playing international cricket. There were concerns over his form since he only plays the IPL, is no longer the captain and hardly ever got to bat last season. But his batting has been much better than the rest. This is really interesting.”
He added that, in contrast, new CSK skipper Ravindra Jadeja has failed to impress. Chopra said:
“Jadeja’s bat is not doing the talking. Even his bowling is not working. His captaincy stint has started off poorly, which is a bit of a disappointment.”
Jadeja has scored 26*, 17 and 0 in IPL 2022 so far. With his left-arm spin, he has only managed one wicket in three games.
“Except pacer Deepak Chahar, none of the CSK players are unavailable” - Aakash Chopra
While a few IPL franchises have suffered since some of their key players were on national duty during their initial matches in the T20 league, barring Deepak Chahar, Chennai have faced no such issues.
Pointing out that Chennai have basically picked a weak squad, he explained:
“Except pacer Deepak Chahar, none of the CSK players are unavailable. Even Moeen Ali has come in now. Still, they are struggling. The batting is let CSK down. Devon Conway is there, but they don’t want to utilize him. So, it’s not like they are losing because their big players are not there.”
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In their previous IPL 2022 clash, Chennai went down to the Punjab Kings (PBKS) by 54 runs. Chasing 181, they crumbled to 126 all out.
They will next take on Sunrisers Hyderabad, who are also yet to win a game in IPL 2022, at the Dr. DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai later today.