Former India opener Gautam Gambhir has suggested MS Dhoni to bat at No. 3 for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the upcoming edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) as Suresh Raina has pulled out of the competition.

Raina has opted out of the IPL 2020 citing “personal reasons” and Gambhir reckons that Dhoni, who has been out of action for over a year, should try and play as many balls possible.

“It will be a good opportunity for MS Dhoni to come and bat at No. 3,” Gambhir said on Star Sports’ show ‘Cricket Connected’.

“And he has been away from the game for the last one year, so he would end up getting a lot more balls to face and then he can actually play the anchor innings as well which he has been doing for India for the last couple of years,” he added.

According to Gambhir, who has led KKR to two IPL titles, there are batsmen who can play the role of a finisher for CSK.

“So, MS Dhoni at No. 3 and then they have got depth with Kedar Jadhav, Dwayne Bravo, Sam Curran, all those guys they can come in.

“So, I think it is going to be a great opportunity for someone like MS Dhoni and I am sure he is going to relish that. Also, Suresh Raina not being there, you want to have some experienced player batting at No. 3, so it could be MS Dhoni now,” he remarked.

The 2020 season of Indian Premier League will be played in UAE from September 19 to November 10. The sixty-game event, for which a detailed itinerary is yet awaited, will be played across venues in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.