Before the current Indian Premier League season, MS Dhoni’s last appearance in a cricket match was at the World Cup last year during India’s semi-final defeat against New Zealand. Dhoni took a year off from the sport and was set to return to play for the Chennai Super Kings at IPL in March. But the tournament was postponed indefinitely due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
Now when the IPL finally kicked off in September, fans could see Dhoni return to bat after nearly 14 months. But Dhoni, who had announced his international retirement in August, gave fans another jolt of surprise when he demoted lower in the batting order. (Total IPL coverage 2020)
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Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran came in to beat Dhoni against the Mumbai Indians in the first game. Curran broke 18 6-ball runs to win the game for his team. In the second game against the Rajasthan Royals, Dhoni came in at no. 7 position to hit, but it was too late for CSK, who were chasing 217.
Dhoni scored three sixes in the final, but it wasn’t enough to win the game for his team. While Dhoni’s decision to push lower in the order has drawn criticism, former India starter Aakash Chopra came to his defense and said Dhoni was giving CSK the best chance of winning the game.
“It was also about the fact that Dhoni hadn’t played competitive cricket in 14 months. After the game against Rajasthan, he admitted he was rusty. The long layoff, followed by the long quarantine did not help his cause as a hitter, “wrote Aakash Chopra in a column for ESPNCricinfo.
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“What he tells me about Dhoni is that he’s realistic, because he’s the first to admit that his lack of confidence in his hitting skills played a role in making those crucial decisions. There is a fine line between bravado and foolishness, and also a fine line between caution and fear, ”he added.
“I think the idea of demoting himself in the first two games was not to shirk the responsibilities of a leader, but to give Chennai the best chance of winning the game. Dhoni felt that he was not ready to bring the team home and decided not to let ego get in the way of a pragmatic decision.
“He started this tournament in no shape whatsoever and now he’s pushed himself in some kind of way with the three sixes in the final against the Royals. As games move to places where scores over 200 will not occur too often, Dhoni could begin to place himself in places in the batting order from where he can make significant contributions to victories, ”said Chopra.
Chennai Super Kings will face Delhi Capitals on Friday.
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