MS Dhoni in action for Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2025© BCCI
Chennai Super Kings faced brutal criticism from former Indian cricket team opener Aakash Chopra after their loss against Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2025 on Sunday. CSK faltered in their chase of 183 and although skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad scored a half-century, they kept losing wickets at regular intervals and even MS Dhoni was dismissed on the first ball of the final over. With two losses in three games, CSK are currently seventh in the points table and Chopra was not happy with their team composition. He questioned the decision to include Jamie Overton in place of Sam Curran and also pointed out that the England all-rounder ended up bowling just two overs in the match.
“CSK, I do not like your playing XI one bit. You are making changes, but change is not necessarily progress. You dropped Sam Curran and played Jamie Overton, but you got Overton to bowl only two overs. The truth is that you need to address the problem in your batting. It is not getting addressed. It once again came to the fore,” Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
“Noor Ahmad was amongst the wickets again. (Matheesha) Pathirana was outstanding. Khaleel (Ahmed) was very, very good, but Overton conceded 30 runs in his two overs. Why are you playing Overton? You shouldn’t play him,” he added.
Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming has explained MS Dhoni’s batting arrivals saying that they should not expect the former skipper to walk in to bat around the 9th or 10th over mark in the ongoing IPL 2025 season following their six-run loss against Rajasthan Royals on Sunday.
Coming to bat at No. 7, Dhoni scored just 16 runs off 11 balls while chasing 183 at Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati as CSK suffered their second successive loss of the season.
In the game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Dhoni came to bat at No. 9 after Ravichandran Ashwin even when CSK were reeling at 80/6 after 13 overs. The situation was not ideal for Dhoni to inflict a turnaround, but he played a 16-ball 30 not out cameo laced with three fours and two sixes. However, the move to send Dhoni in at the fag end of the innings was not welcomed by many including former players, commentators and fans.
Defending his shift in the batting order, Fleming claimed that the 43-year-old veteran’s body is not what it used to be especially his knees after undergoing a left knee operation following the end of the IPL 2023.
(With IANS inputs)
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