MS Dhoni trying to be mentor and wicketkeeper at Chennai Super Kings, feels Gautam Gambhir

Former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Gautam Gambhir believes that MS Dhoni needs to take a look at CSK batting order in IPL 2021.

Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni. (Photo: BCCI/IPL)

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni has scored only 37 runs in 7 games so far in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 but that wouldn’t bother him too much. The three-time IPL champions, who failed to make the Playoffs for the first time in their history last year, are currently in the second place on the points table as IPL 2021 resumes on Sunday (September 19) with a clash between Mumbai Indians and CSK.

Former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Gautam Gambhir believes that Dhoni needs to take a look at CSK batting order in IPL 2021. “MS was a player who would’ve actually batted at number 4 or 5 but we’ve seen in the first leg that he normally bats at No. 6 or 7. There are times when he’s actually pushed Sam Curran before him as well,” Gambhir said during the Star Sports show ‘Game Plan’.

“The reason behind this is that he’s probably trying to be a mentor and a wicketkeeper, who can lead the side and keep wickets. If the situation comes to a point where he probably has to play 8 or 10 balls, he can just go out there and whack them. It’s going to be difficult for him, because once you are not playing international cricket, IPL is a very difficult tournament, it’s not like CPL and other leagues.

“IPL is where you face top-quality bowlers. For me, I think the biggest challenge for CSK will be that the top order needs to fire because that’s not the case anymore,” Gambhir said about Dhoni.

Former India opener Gambhir felt that pressure is also increasing every year on Virat Kohli and the Royal Challengers Bangalore to win the coveted IPL title. “He’s (Virat) got people like AB de Villiers and Glenn Maxwell, which is a huge cushion to have. Even if it’s not Maxwell, AB is a massive cushion because there is only one person who can take on someone like Jasprit Bumrah and it was AB de Villiers.

“I have not seen anyone else who has done it that consistently against Jasprit Bumrah, but AB is a freak because. But yes obviously, from Virat’s standard they would want to go out and dominate the opposition, especially in the IPL.

“There’s international cricket where you’ve got 5 or 6 top international bowlers, you don’t have that in the IPL. You probably get 2 or 3 international bowlers and then you’ve got domestic bowlers as well, whom you could dominate. So, probably there’s a lot of pressure on Virat and AB as well, which could be one of the reasons and year after year, if you don’t win that title the pressure keeps on increasing as well,” he added.