Updated: September 23, 2020 3:40:38 pm
With CSK chasing a whopping 217 run goal in Sharjah, Dhoni came to bat when they needed 103 38-ball runs. (BCCI / IPL)
Mahendra Singh Dhoni did not lead from the front as he dropped in batting order during a mammoth chase, former India hitter Gautam Gambhir opined, tearing apart the CSK captain’s decision to hit number seven against Rajasthan Royals.
The former India starter acknowledges that if any other captain had done this he would have drawn a lot of criticism, but since he’s Dhoni, people don’t even talk about it.
With Chennai Super Kings chasing a whopping 217 run goal in Sharjah, Dhoni came to bat when it took 103 38-ball runs. Dhoni sent people like Sam Curran, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Kedar Jadhav in front of him. CSK lost the game by 16 runs.
“To be honest, I was a bit surprised. MS Dhoni batting at No. 7? And sending (Ruturaj) Gaikwad, Sam Curran before him. It doesn’t make any sense to me. In fact, he should lead from the front, ”Gambhir told ESPNcricinfo’s T20 Time Out.
“This is not what you call leading from the front. Hit the number 7 when you’re chasing 217. The game was over. Faf was probably the lone warrior, ”he said.
“Look, if someone else had done this, some other captain (batter) would have hit No. 7, he would have gotten a lot of criticism. It’s MS Dhoni, that’s probably why people don’t talk about it. “
Dhoni has argued that he did not have enough time to prepare due to an extended quarantine period, so he did not come to bat early. ” I haven’t hit in a long time. The 14-day quarantine doesn’t help, ”he said after the game.
Read | IPL 2020: MS Dhoni Kicks Ball Outside Sharjah Stadium, Fan Takes It Home
Dhoni’s referral went to CSK’s additional one-week quarantine after 13 people in his contingent tested positive for COVID-19, resulting in the loss of important training sessions.
The 38-year-old Gambhir, who played 58 tests and 147 ODIs between 2003 and 2016, also questioned CSK’s intention to win the game.
“There is nothing wrong if you end up leaving early, at least you start leading from the front, trying to inspire the team as well. What you did in the last over (hit 3 sixes in the last over), probably if you had done it going into number 4 or 5, along with Faf, you could have made a game with that, ”Gambhir said.
“There was probably no such intention of making it a game. I thought after the (first) six overs, they had literally given up on the game. And probably MS was trying to get back to that batting beat until the end and get some runs under his belt so he could play these kinds of innings in the next few games.
Dhoni came in at bat at No. 7, sending the likes of Sam Curran and Kedar Jadhav ahead of him in a mammoth 217-run chase Tuesday. (IPL / BCCI)
“You have to be in the present, try to win every possible game. I thought there was no intention of winning the game and they were never there in pursuit. “
On Dhoni hitting three sixes in the last over, Gambhir said: “Yeah, you can talk about MS Dhoni’s last over, but to be honest it didn’t do any good. It was just personal careers. “
Gambhir, also a BJP Member of Parliament, said it was an “absolute miscalculation” on the part of the CSK to delay Dhoni’s arrival at the fold.
“When you don’t have Suresh Raina, you are making people believe that Sam Curran is better than you. You’re making people believe that Ruturaj Gaikwad, Curran, Kedar Jadhav, Faf du Plessis, M Vijay, all these guys, they are better than you.
“Probably not the proper captaincy either. This is not how you ask someone like MS to lead the pack. “
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