Why doesn’t MS Dhoni bat higher up the order? A question that has persisted from last season as he has repeatedly come out to bat with only few deliveries left in the innings. And speaking after their second straight loss against Rajasthan Royals, head coach Stephen Fleming said not to expect Dhoni to bat in the IPL if there are more than 6-7 overs remaining, especially if the result is a foregone conclusion.
Against Rajasthan on Sunday, Dhoni walked in with CSK needing 54 off 25 and departed in the last over, failing to close out the game in a chase. “It’s a time thing. MS judges it,” Fleming said. “His body is… his knees aren’t what they used to be. And he’s moving okay, but there’s still an attrition aspect to it. He can’t bat ten overs running full stick. So he will gauge on the day what he can give us. If the game’s in the balance like today, he will go a little bit earlier, and he backs other players when other opportunities are up. So he’s balancing that,” he added.
Since the 2023 season, whenever they chased successfully, CSK have not needed Dhoni’s power-hitting. He has mostly come out when the result was all but confirmed and has scored 3 runs off 9 deliveries. But in the matches that they have lost chasing, Dhoni has batted in 6 innings and has scored 166 runs off 84 deliveries.
That trend had continued in their second match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru when Dhoni walked in at No 9 with R Ashwin coming ahead of him. It is in a season where the message from the CSK management has been that Dhoni has looked the fittest.
Coming down the order also means it takes care of Dhoni’s struggles against spinners. For a while, spinners have found it easy to keep the 43-year-old quiet and if he comes lower down the order, he has had to mostly face only the seamers. On Sunday, with the game in the balance, Rajasthan brought Maheesh Theekshana to bowl the 18th over when CSK needed 45 off 18 deliveries. With spin being not the favoured match-up for Dhoni and Ravindra JadajaTheekshana conceded only 6 runs which proved vital in the end.
With Dhoni, Jadeja and Ashwin slotted to bat together, Chennai now lack the firepower that is needed to provide impetus in the end overs as well as in chases. It is the reason why they brought in Jamie Overton in place of Sam Curran for Sunday’s fixture.
And Fleming said the franchise still has plenty to gain from Dhoni, who continues to maneuver the field positions in the middle. “I said it last year (as well), he’s too valuable to us – leadership and wicket-keeping – to throw him in nine-ten overs. He has actually never done that. So, look, from around 13-14 overs, he’s looking to go depending on who’s in,” Fleming added.
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Although Dhoni’s knee troubles aren’t new, it was surprising that once the franchise decided to retain him, they didn’t go for any other frontline wicketkeeper at the player auctions. In case Dhoni isn’t fit, then it leaves Chennai with just two options in Devon Conway and the uncapped Vansh Bedi.
For his part, Dhoni had spoken about his future in a Star Sports show. “If I’m not wicketkeeping, I think I’m useless on the field because that’s where I read the game in the best possible manner. It’s a challenge, and that’s what makes it interesting,” Dhoni said. “Last few years, I don’t know whether it is 2 or 5 years, my franchise will be like you play till you want to play.”
