Former Indian spinner Pragyan Ojha has come out in support of struggling Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni after the franchise suffered their 4th loss to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the ongoing 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday (7 October).
In the absence of Suresh Raina, unlike other seasons, CSK is struggling to make an impact in the ongoing IPL 2020 in the UAE especially due to their middle-order's failure.
On Wednesday, the franchise yet again suffered narrow defeat of 10 runs against KKR, resulting in the hopes of thousands of fans crushed down as they were thinking that the three-time IPL champions have bounced back in the tournament after their smashing 10-wicket win over Kings XI Punjab.
With the loss, CSK are now at the fifth place in the points table with only 2 wins from their 6 games in the ongoing IPL 13 and the fingers have yet again been raised on Dhoni who is struggling to score runs and Ojha has backed his former captain in the tough times by saying he can't do everything alone.
Former spinner also stressed that it is harsh to only blame the skipper for the failure of the team, saying every individual should take the responsibility and contribute as Dhoni can't fix everything wrong with the team.
He also opined on Kedar Jadhav, who came ahead of other power-hitters like Dwayne Bravo and Ravindra Jadeja when CSK needed 39 off 21 balls but ended up just eating the balls, scoring only 7 runs off 12 balls and the franchise eventually lost the match by 10 runs against KKR.
Ojha told Sports Today: “It is not just about the KKR game, but it is about what has been happening since many days [in the CSK unit]. Every time CSK does something that the fans don’t like, they start talking about MS Dhoni. But is it humanly possible for just one individual to be responsible for everything?”
He further added, “We cannot just blame him. We have got Kedar Jadhav who is not scoring. He is not looking the way we all expect him to perform.”
Ojha also pointed out that Dhoni was trying hard to fill the gap left in the team by the exit of Raina and with another specialist batsman Jadhav not performing, it is currently the biggest problem for the team in the ongoing season.
He signed off by saying, “Also, MS Dhoni came up the order to bat, so he is trying to fill the gaps that are there in the team. There are two big gaps to be filled. One was Suresh Raina, who was there for CSK for so many years. And the second is Jadhav not performing. So, it becomes very difficult for you.”
