Ms. Dhoni is the greatest finisher in the history of cricket, and there’s no need for him to bat up the order. These were the words of former Australian skipper Michael Clarke ahead of the CSK vs. KKR clash.
Clarke feels that Ms. Dhoni should continue to bat down the order while other batters like Daryl Mitchell and Shivam Dube need to step up in batting.
Speaking of the same, Sanjay Manjrekar said, “Which means he will have to come ahead of somebody like Daryl Mitchell, Ravindra Jadeja, or Shivam Dube. Is that the right call? I Wonder. May not. I want him to replicate what he did last season. Few balls and maximum impact. And even in that match, when he got 30-odd, he got it in 16-17 balls. MS Dhoni’s strengths include his wicketkeeping and being a guide to Ruturaj and his cameos. Sending him to No. 3 or No. 4 may not be such a great idea.”
Clarke also shared the same opinion, saying that as this is the last year of Ms. Dhoni, the other young players need to step up, especially in batting.
Dhoni is regularly seen playing in the IPL but has called off his international career after India’s loss to New Zealand in the 2019 semi-final.
Speaking about Dhoni Clarke, he said, “You are spot on, Sanjay. He doesn’t need to. That’s never been his role in any format of the game. There might have been occasions when he went up the order. But, generally, he is a finisher. He is probably the best finisher the game has ever seen. So he doesn’t have to change that. The other thing about having MS Dhoni on your team is that it should make the players in front of him feel confident and maybe take a few risks a little bit earlier. He has got enough jobs, and he has done it for a long period of time. It’s time for other players to step up.”