Harbhajan Singh slammed MS Dhoni's decision to bat at number 9© BCCI/Sportzpics
MS Dhoni batted at number 9 for the first time in his T20 career but his decision ultimately backfired as he was dismissed for a golden duck during the IPL 2024 match against Punjab Kings on Sunday. Dhoni has taken on the role of finisher for CSK this season and he usually comes into bat with 1-2 overs left in the matches. Against PBKS, he allowed both Mitchell Santner and Shardul Thakur to bat ahead of him before getting out in the 19th over. Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh was not impressed with the decision and he said that if Dhoni is going to bat at number 9, CSK would have to add another pacer to their ranks instead.
“MS Dhoni should not play if he wants to bat at number 9. It is better to include a fast bowler than himself in the playing XI. He is the decision maker and has let his team down by not getting started.”
'Shardul Thakur preceded him. Thakur can never shoot as well as Dhoni and I don't understand why Dhoni made this mistake. Nothing happens without his consent and I am not prepared to accept that this decision to demote him was made by someone else.”
“CSK needed quick runs and Dhoni has done that in the previous matches. It was shocking that he was left behind in the important match against Punjab Kings. Even if CSK wins today, I will still call on Dhoni. Let people say everything. I will say what is right,” Harbhajan Singh told Star Sports.
The match saw Chennai Super Kings put on an all-round show from Ravindra Jadeja and register a crucial win over Punjab Kings. This win puts them third in the IPL 2024 points table.
“Everyone believed the wicket was slow. Even low bounce. Just the start we got, we thought of going to 180-200. After losing wickets, we thought 160-170 was a good score was. I don't know what he does, but even in the preseason he was doing 150 kmph (on Simarjeet). He didn't get too many chances, but it's never too late then we thought the batsman would give 10-15 runs, but he could give 2-3 wickets. Some guys were suffering from flu. Until morning we didn't even know who would play or not, I'm very happy about that along,” Ruturaj said after the match.
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