Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni usually prefers having enough bowling options up his sleeves for different stages of the innings, but given the team's batting issues, he has been forced to pick only five bowlers in this year's Indian Premier League (IPL) so far, said Aakash Chopra.
The former India batsman's comments came in wake of CSK's successive heavy defeats in the tournament, going down to Delhi Capitals (DC) on Friday (September 25) in Dubai after conceding the match versus Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Sharjah earlier in the week.
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In the Dubai encounter, CSK's spinners Piyush Chawla (2/33) and Ravindra Jadeja (0/44) were expensive, as they were against RR too. But with Dhoni, unlike previous years, not having sixth or at times even the seventh bowling option available up his sleeves, he had to complete their quota, which allowed DC to post 175/3 in 20 overs.
They were later able to restrict CSK to just 131/7, with familiar problems resurfacing for Dhoni's team which has clearly looked the most affected by lack of match practice leading into the tournament.
"For the first time in my memory, Dhoni the captain is playing only with 5 bowlers. He doesn't like playing with 5 bowlers, but this time he is," said Chopra in a video over his YouTube channel.
"He is a bit concerned about his batting, the absence of Rayudu is a big concern. He is not 100% confident about his batting form. With Ruturaj Gaikwad coming in and Murali Vijay not making runs, he is not confident to play 6 bowlers."
"If you observe Jadeja this season, he has bowled 4 overs in all three matches and conceded more than 40 runs each time. If he is going to leak so many runs, you have got nowhere else to go. No one else is bowling, only 5 bowlers in the team. That's very unlike Dhoni but it's happening."
In the run-chase, only Faf du Plessis (43) provided some fight while the rest of the batting unit struggled to put the ball off the square. Dhoni, who made 15 off 12 balls, was once again under the scanner for coming in late at No.6. Chopra said he can understand why the skipper has been batting lower in the order, having only just returned to competitive cricket after a long gap.
"When you talk about Dhoni's batting order, you need to look at where Ruturaj Gaikwad and Murali Vijay can bat. What's the use of sending Kedar Jadhav at the end. I can understand where Dhoni is batting and why he is batting there," Chopra said.
"Their top-order is struggling except Faf du Plessis. Shane Watson will eventually get runs, I am not too worried. I am worried about Vijay and Gaikwad."
"They are missing Raina. They haven't found a replacement for him. It's hurting this team a bit. Harbhajan Singh would have added a bit more strength."
"They are struggling as a team at the moment. 180-run targets are difficult for them, 150-160, that is their range, for that to happen, I think Dhoni must play 6 six bowlers," he concluded.
