MS Dhoni of Chennai Superkings bowled out by Harshal Patel of Punjab Kings during match 53 of the Indian Premier League season 17 (IPL 2024) between Punjab Kings and Chennai Super Kings held at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala. (Saikat Das / Sportzpics for IPL)
Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has made a scathing remark on Chennai Super Kings’ MS Dhoni for coming out to bat at No 9 during their match against Punjab Kings on Sunday.
MS Dhoni batted at No. 9 — for the first time – and Harshal Patel bowled him for a golden duck. In this season so far, MS Dhoni has amassed 110 across 7 innings at an average of average of 55 and a strike rate of 224.49.
“MS Dhoni batting at No.9 doesn’t work for CSK, it’s doesn’t help the team’s cause. I know that he is 42, but he is in solid form,” Irfan Pathan told Star Sports.
“He should be taking the responsibility of batting up the order. He should bat for at least 4 to 5 overs.
“He is batting for the last over or last 2 overs and that doesn’t serve the purpose for CSK for a long term.”
Chennai moved up to third with 12 points, ahead of Lucknow Super Giants and Sunrisers Hyderabad on net run-rate.
“It might happen that we will see CSK qualify for the playoffs from here on and they need to win 90 percent of their games,” said Pathan.
“As a proper senior guy, who’s in form, he needs to bat up the order. He can’t be doing the same thing that he has done on quite a few occasions.
“Yes, he made an impact against Mumbai, but here, when the team needed him, you can’t send Shardul Thakur ahead of yourself. You can’t see Dhoni batting at No.9.
“Sameer Rizvi was also padded up in the 15th over. They need to work out something; someone has to tell Dhoni, ‘Come on mate, bat for 4 overs’,” he added.
Chennai Super Kings will take on Gujarat Titans on Friday at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
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