In the match between Chennai Super Kings and Punjab Kings at Dharamshala, former India player Harbhajan Singh criticized MS Dhoni for batting at the number 9 position in the PBKS vs CSK IPL 2024 match.
The former spinner felt that Dhoni should have come to bat earlier, around the 16th over, as the Chennai batters were struggling to hit the ball well. However, Dhoni came to bat in the 19th over and he was dismissed by Harshal Patel on the very first which he played and returned to the pavilion without scoring any run.
Dhoni couldn’t predict Harshal Patel’s slower delivery and was dismissed by it. The defending champions encountered difficulties throughout the entire duration of the 20 overs in the match and posted a total of 167 runs at the loss of nine wickets.
While talking to Star Sports, Harbhajan Singh said, “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.”
“CSK were in a need of quick runs and Dhoni has done that in the previous games. It was shocking that he stayed back in the important contest against Punjab Kings. Even if CSK win today, I will still call out Dhoni. Let people say anything. I will say what is right,” Harbhajan Singh said on Star Sports.
