Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni received a lot of criticism for not batting up the order against the Rajasthan Royals (RR). CSK lost the match by 16 runs while chasing 217 and Dhoni came out to bat at number 7.

Aakash Chopra has come out in defense of Dhoni and said the move to send Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran before him was right. He added that the decision was taken to give CSK a better chance to chase down the target. Dhoni admitted that he isn't fluent with the bat after the quarantine period.

“It was also about the fact that Dhoni hadn’t played competitive cricket in 14 months. After the game against Rajasthan, he admitted that he was rusty. The long layoff, followed by the long quarantine did not help his cause as a batsman,” Chopra wrote in a column for ESPNCricinfo.

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“What it tells me about Dhoni is that he is a realist, for he is the first to admit that his lack of confidence in his batting abilities played a part in the making of those crucial decisions. There’s a thin line between bravado and foolishness, and also a thin line that separates caution and fear,” he added.

Chopra said Dhoni wasn't backing out from taking responsibility by coming down the batting order. “I think the idea of demoting himself in the first two games was not to shy away from the responsibilities of a leader but to give Chennai the best shot at winning the game. Dhoni felt that he wasn’t ready to bring the team home and chose not to let ego come in the way of a pragmatic decision.

“He started this tournament with no form whatsoever and has now worked himself into some kind of form with the three sixes in the final over against the Royals. As the matches shift to venues where scores in excess of 200 won’t come about too often, Dhoni might quietly start fitting himself into places in the batting order from where he will be able to make significant contributions to wins,” he said.

(With ESPNCricinfo Inputs)