Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag gave a humorous spin to the ongoing debate about MS Dhoni’s batting order in Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) during an IPL 2025 clash on Friday.
While several cricket experts like Irfan Pathan, Robin Uthappa, and Aakash Chopra questioned Dhoni’s decision to bat at No. 9 in the match, Sehwag added a light-hearted perspective. Speaking on Cricbuzz, Sehwag pointed out that Dhoni usually comes to bat in the final overs but appeared earlier this time.
Sehwag Roasts MS Dhoni
“Jaldi aa gaye. Jub wo aaye, tub 16th over tha, wo actually aate hain 19th-20th over mai toh jaldi aa gaye na! (He (Dhoni) usually bats during 19th-20th over, today he arrived early). Either he arrived early, or their batters lost their wickets quickly (today),” Sehwag quipped.
Sehwag further explained that Dhoni and his team have deliberately decided that he will play only a limited number of deliveries. “It’s a decision that he and his team has taken that MS Dhoni will only play only limited deliveries and will bat for limited time. And that’s what they’ve been doing. It’s up to you now – you may lose wickets early or late; he will (only) arrive by the 17-18th over. We usually see him in 18th or 19th over but today, he was two overs early. I am not surprised,” he added.
Despite Dhoni’s unbeaten 30 off 16 balls, his knock was not enough as CSK failed to chase down the 197-run target set by RCB. Interestingly, even Ravichandran Ashwin batted ahead of Dhoni in the game.
ALSO READ | WATCH | RR Coach Rahul Dravid Praises Quinton de Kock’s Heroics That Guided KKR to First Win of IPL 2025
When asked whether CSK should be more flexible with Dhoni’s batting position, Sehwag remarked that his opinion doesn’t matter as he has been saying this for the past four years. “We have been saying this for the past four years. When he was playing for India, we wanted him to bat at no.4 and that he should bat higher. He didn’t bat higher even when he was the captain. He’s now nearing retirement, so it won’t change. Even if he would’ve batted earlier (vs RCB), don’t think there would’ve been much difference considering how RCB were playing,” Sehwag concluded.
Dhoni’s batting position has been a topic of discussion among cricket experts and fans alike, but CSK continues to stick with their strategy of using him as a finisher, irrespective of the match situation.
Kuldeep Yadav Reflects On Facing Australia In Semi-Finals, ‘We Didn’t Want Them For Finals’
