'It Hurts': MS Dhoni Told To Drop Himself From CSK XI And Give His Spot To Youngster

'It Hurts': MS Dhoni Told To Drop Himself From CSK XI And Give His Spot To Youngster

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Last Updated: April 07, 2025, 12:34 IST

MS Dhoni IPL 2025: There has been a lot of debate over MS Dhoni's batting spot in Chenai Super Kings playing XI this IPL season.

MS Dhoni has been batting in the lower middle order for CSK this IPL. (PTI Photo)

MS Dhoni IPL 2025: After three defeats in four matches, Chennai Super Kings find themselves languishing at the 9th spot on the IPL 2025 points table. The five-time IPL winners though started their season with a win over Mumbai Indians at home but have since lost to Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals – two of these defeats coming at Chepauk.

The common feature of these defeats has been CSK‘s failure to chase down targets. While against MI, they did win by four wickets, they lost to RCB by 50 runs, RR by 6 runs and then DC by 25 runs. Their openers have failed to stitch together a significant partnership so far with their top-order also underperforming.

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Another criticism that CSK have been facing is the batting spot of their stalwart MS Dhoni who has often come to bat quite low in the order and at times when the fate of the game has nearly been sealed.

Against DC, Dhoni was in the middle by the 10th over but that was only because CSK had lost half their side by then and needed 110 runs more to win in 52 deliveries.

The need of the hour was big hits but Vijay Shankar (69* off 54) and Dhoni (30* off 26) failed to accelerate as DC completed their first win over CSK in Chennai since IPL 2010.

After CSK’s latest batting failure, former India opener Wasim Jaffer feels that if Dhoni isn’t captaining the franchise and continues to bat this way, he should make way for a youngster now.

“Yes, if Dhoni isn’t captaining, then it hurts a little seeing him (bat) this way," Jaffer said on ESPNcricinfo in response to whether the former CSK skipper needs to drop himself from the playing XI.

Jaffer attributed Dhoni’s struggle to playing limited cricket. The 43-year-old retired from international cricket in 2020 and only plays in IPL now.

“Obviously, Dhoni doesn’t play a lot of cricket so it’s not easy. That’s why he bats so low but when you’ve lost five wickets inside 10 overs then Dhoni has no other option (but to bat) since there’s just Ashwin behind. It was good to see that at least Dhoni batted at no. 7 today," he said.

However, Jaffer said CSK have bigger problems to worry about that the form of Dhoni.

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“The biggest concern is that your top-order is not making runs. It doesn’t feel like they are in the race while chasing. They lost last game by 40 odd runs, this by 25 runs. This isn’t the CSK of old. Whenever CSK picks a player, you expect him to perform well. But this hasn’t been the case this time around be it Tripathi or Deepak Hooda. They’ve been off colour," he said.

“I feel for the fans – they turn up in huge numbers. I haven’t seen CSK play this bad at home," he added.

First Published: April 07, 2025, 10:09 IST

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