MS Dhoni’s decision to bat at No. 9 left the fans and cricket experts surprised 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.
While Dhoni has batted exceptionally well in the death overs, he bagged a golden duck against PBKS at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium. Harshal Patel knocked him over with a slower Yorker.
Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh was also critical of Dhoni’s batting position. In fact, Harbhajan went on to say that the former CSK skipper shouldn’t play if he is going to bat at No. 9.
“MS Dhoni shouldn't play if he wants to bat at the number 9 slot. It is better to include a fast bowler than him in the playing XI. He is the decision-maker and has let down his team by not coming out to bat," Harbhajan said on Star Sports.
“Shardul Thakur came ahead of him. Thakur can never hit shots like Dhoni and I don't understand why Dhoni made this mistake. Nothing happens without his permission and I am not ready to accept that this decision to demote him was taken by someone else," he added.
“CSK were in a need of quick runs and Dhoni has done that in the previous games. It was shocking that he stayed back in the important contest against Punjab Kings. Even if CSK win today, I will still call out Dhoni. Let people say anything. I will say what is right,” he further remarked.
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 key 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.
