Former all-rounder Irfan Pathan didn’t filter his words as he criticized MS Dhoni’s batting position in CSK’s IPL 2024 match against PBKS in Dharamsala on Sunday (May 5).
In the ongoing IPL edition, the 42-year-old has mostly come into bat with around two overs remaining in the Super Kings innings.
Dhoni has batted exceptionally well in the death overs, but he bagged a golden duck while batting at No. 9 against PBKS at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium. Harshal Patel cleaned him up with a slower Yorker that dipped on the former CSK skipper.
Pathan urged Dhoni to bat up the order, keeping in mind the form he has been in with the bat this season.
“MS Dhoni batting at No.9 doesn’t work for CSK, it’s doesn’t help the team’s cause. I know that he is 42, but he is in solid form. He should be taking the responsibility of batting up the order. He should bat for at least 4 to 5 overs. He is batting for the last over or last 2 overs and that doesn’t serve the purpose for CSK for a long term,” Pathan told Star Sports.
On the eve of the IPL 2024 opener, MS Dhoni stepped down as CSK captain and handed over the leadership baton to Ruturaj Gaikwad.
After quitting the captaincy, Dhoni seems to have taken his batting a notch higher. In nine innings this season, he has amassed 110 runs at a strike rate of 224.48, including 10 boundaries and 9 sixes.
Pathan said Dhoni should not have promoted Shardul Thakur ahead of himself against the Punjab Kings.
“It might happen that we will see CSK qualify for the playoffs from here on and they need to win 90 percent of their games. As a proper senior guy, who’s in form, he needs to bat up the order. He can’t be doing the same thing that he has done on quite a few occasions,” Pathan remarked.
“Yes, he made an impact against Mumbai, but here, when the team needed him, you can’t send Shardul Thakur ahead of yourself. You can’t see Dhoni batting at No.9. Sameer Rizvi was also padded up in the 15th over. They need to work out something; someone has to tell Dhoni, ‘Come on mate, bat for 4 overs’,” he added.
Coming to the match, Chennai Super Kings registered a comprehensive 28-run victory over Punjab Kings to move up to the third spot in the team standings.
Invited to bat first, the defending champions posted 167/9 in their allotted 20 overs on the back of notable contributions from Ravindra Jadeja (43 off 26), Ruturaj Gaikwad (32 off 21) and Daryl Mitchell (30 off 19).
Defending the total, CSK restricted PBKS to 139/9. Jajdeja starred with the ball as well, returning with the figures of 3/20 in his four overs. Simarjeet Singh and Tushar Deshpande also picked up a couple of scalps each.
