MS Dhoni and the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) did not get off to a stellar start in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season as they suffered from a horror defeat against te Gujarat Giants by five wickets on Friday (March 31). Following CSK's loss against the Hardik Pandya-led defending champions, former India cricketer and MSD's teammate Virender Sehwag questioned CSK skipper's decision-making in the contest. Sehwag expressed how he was more surprised than disappointed by the calls MS Dhoni took during the clash against Gujarat Titans.


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"Had Dhoni used an over from Moeen Ali somewhere in the middle, he may not have needed to go to Tushar Deshpande, who was highly expensive. You don't expect MS Dhoni making such mistakes often, but that's where you could use the risk-and-reward approach of using an off-spinner when right-handers are batting," said Sehwag during a conversation with Cricbuzz. (IPL 2023: MS Dhoni To Chris Gayle, Oldest Players In History Of Indian Premier League - In Pics)


Sehwag suggested that Dhoni should have given an over to Moeen Ali in the middle phase instead of trusting in Tushar Despande who gave away a lot of runs. Deshpande was bowling at great pace but was struggling to his line and length against the likes of Shubman Gill. In the end, he finished giving away 51 runs taking one wicket in his four overs.


After releasing the likes of Dwayne Bravo, Robin Uthappa, Hari Nisaanth, Adam Milne, Chris Jordan, Bhagath Varma, K.M. Asif, and Narayan Jagadeesan, CSK are finding ways to replace these stars who did so much for the franchise. MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings (CSK) next face the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Chepauk Stadium on Monday (April 3). (MS Dhoni Player IPL 2023 Opener Vs Gujarat Giants With Injured Knee? CSK Head coach Stephen Fleming Gives Big Update)



IPL 2023 Chennai Super Kings Squad


Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayudu, Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni(w/c), Dwaine Pretorius, Deepak Chahar, Simarjeet Singh, Ajinkya Rahane, Subhranshu Senapati, Shaik Rasheed, Nishant Sindhu, Mitchell Santner, Bhagath Varma, Tushar Deshpande, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Ajay Jadav Mandal, Prashant Solanki, Akash Singh.