Former India captain MS Dhoni continues to be a key player for CSK despite age not being on his side. The 43-year-old has continued to produce lightning-fast stumpings in this season’s IPL, but the CSK veteran’s falling batting position has been a cause of concern for many cricket fans and even commentators.
However, CSK coach Stephen Fleming has now revealed the reason why MS Dhoni keeps getting pushed down the order. Fleming, while speaking during the post-match presentation said, “Yeah, it’s a time thing. MS judges it. 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,”
“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.” the CSK coach added.
MS Dhoni fails to win two successive run chases for CSK:
Considered as one of the most revered finishers in world cricket, Dhoni has failed to finish two consecutive games for his franchise at their home ground in Chepauk. In both matches, Dhoni scored some runs but didn’t come close to a victory.
In the last match against Rajasthan Royals on Sunday, Dhoni came to bat in the 16th over of the match after the dismissal of skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad. Dhoni scored 16 runs off 11 balls with a six and a boundary, but was eventually dismissed by Sandeep Sharma.
