Former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has called MS Dhoni out for batting at No.9 in the IPL 2024 clash between the Chennai Super Kings and the Punjab Kings in Dharamsala on Sunday. The record-breaking off-spinner also reckons it had to be Dhoni's decision on Sunday about where he should bat.
With Mitchell Santner departing in the 16th over and the scorecard reading 122-6, the management decided to send Shardul Thakur ahead of the former CSK sipper despite Dhoni striking big at death consistently. The 42-year-old was also cleaned up a slower delivery from Harshal Patel the first ball he faced.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Harbhajan opined that it's better to include a fast bowler in the XI if MS Dhoni is to bat at No.9 and that the ex-captain let his team down with that decision.
"MS Dhoni shouldn't play if he wants to bat at the number 9 slot. It is better to include a fast bowler than him in the playing XI. He is the decision-maker and has let down his team by not coming out to bat. Shardul Thakur came ahead of him. Thakur can never hit shots like Dhoni and I don't understand why Dhoni made this mistake. Nothing happens without his permission and I am not ready to accept that this decision to demote him was taken by someone else."
"After losing wickets, thought 160-170 was a good score" - Ruturaj Gaikwad
Chennai Super Kings skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad heaped praise on Simarjeet Singh, who played his first match of the season and snaffled figures of 3-0-16-2. He spoke at the presentation after CSK's 28-run win:
"Everyone believed the wicket was slow. Even low bounce. Just that the start we got, we were thinking of pushing till 180-200. After losing wickets, thought 160-170 was a good score. Don't know what he's doing, but even in preseason he was clicking 150kph (on Simarjeet). He didn't get too much chances, but it's never too late."
In the process, the Super Kings broke their five-match losing streak against the PBKS.
