Former India batter Manoj Tiwary lambasted the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) support staff for not having enough “guts” to ask MS Dhoni to bat higher up the order. During CSK’s defeat against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, the former India captain Dhoni walked out to bat at No.9 as the likes of Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravindra Ashwin all came ahead of him when the franchise was chasing 197.
The Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side stumbled to a 50-run loss against RCB after the hosts were restricted to just 146 in the allotted twenty overs. Dhoni remained unbeaten on 30 off 16 balls. The former CSK captain walked out in the middle when the game was long gone, and only the formalities remained.
Dhoni’s decision to come so low down the order has outraged fans, and even experts are now questioning the franchise’s tactics.
“It’s beyond my understanding how a batter like MS Dhoni, who can stay unbeaten after scoring 30 off 16 balls, why not move up the order? You are playing to win, right?” Manoj Tiwary told Cricbuzz.
“30 runs off 16 runs. He has the maximum strike rate among all the CSK batters. If you know you can do it, you should look to bat higher and try to win the game. I would just request that he come out in public and tell us why you are batting so lower down the order. You saw the visuals, right? The crowd was dancing when Dhoni was walking out to bat. The crowd goes there to see this,” he added.
Speaking further, Tiwary said, “CSK coaching staff do not have the guts to tell MS Dhoni to move up the order. I think they will never be able to tell him. Once he has decided, that’s it.”
‘I am not surprised’
Former India batter Virender Sehwag said he wasn’t surprised that Dhoni walked out to bat so late in the game. He also believes the game’s result wouldn’t have changed even if the wicketkeeper-batter had made his way out earlier.
“This is something he and his team have decided. He said that he would only play a certain number of balls. He always comes to bat during the 17th or 18th over. He came in the same situation,” Sehwag told Cricbuzz.
“I am not surprised. It’s not like if he came on to bat earlier, anything about this match would have changed because of the way RCB was playing,” he added.
This is only the second time in his T20 career that Dhoni has batted at No.9. The first instance was against Punjab Kings last season.
With this defeat against RCB, CSK has dropped to seventh place in the IPL points table. The team will next face Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati on Sunday, March 30.