With a long batting line-up and set players in key phases, Rohit Sankar asks, do CSK need MS Dhoni the batsman anymore?

From a Chennai Super Kings perspective, two things stood out in their loss to Delhi Capitals in the second match of IPL 2021: they have a questionable bowling attack and their immense batting depth should give them the freedom to bat more aggressively.

After a sedate powerplay, true to CSK’s standards, followed a thrilling period where Suresh Raina and Moeen Ali took on the Delhi bowlers, in particular Ravichandran Ashwin who was brought on to counter the left-handers. Before long, CSK were no longer playing catch up with the acceptable run rate, but pushing it further with some excellent middle overs batting.

In the death overs, Sam Curran took over from Raina and Moeen to play another blinder as a finisher, enhancing his reputation as a T20 batsman in the process. The presence of versatile left-handers like Raina, Moeen, Curran and Jadeja, all capable of taking down spinners in the middle overs makes CSK’s batting unit interesting.

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This is primarily because they choose to not address the elephant in the room: what is MS Dhoni doing in that line-up? Dhoni is a shadow of the batsman he once was and it is something it seems even he recognizes. But Dhoni makes CSK tick, and for a line-up like that, where the bowling attack must be managed carefully and batting match-ups exploited, a good captain is quite an asset to have. Being the wicketkeeper helps, but where does Dhoni bat?

CSK have incredible batting depth this season with Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar, slotted in at No.10 and No.11 today, both more than handy with the bat. At the top, even if they sideline Faf du Plessis, which appears to be an increasing possibility, they have guys like Robin Uthappa and Narayan Jagadeesan waiting to step in.

The middle-order is packed with the lefties to bat around anchor Ambati Rayudu. Dwayne Bravo could also move out of the line-up once Lungi Ngidi becomes available. This leaves CSK with a huge question mark on where Dhoni bats.

The answer perhaps lies in a run-chase that was hugely criticized in IPL 2020. In the early half of the season against Rajasthan Royals, CSK were chasing down a steep target and Dhoni sent out Sam Curran, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Kedar Jadhav ahead of him before walking in with CSK needing 103 off 38 balls.

Dhoni hit a few meaningless sixes in the end and famously remarked that he didn’t come out as “he hadn’t batted for a long time” and CSK “wanted to try different things”. Needless to say, he was bashed on social media and CSK went on to have a wretched season.

On Saturday, an intent-filled Dhoni perished for a duck off two balls and the players below him, Jadeja and Curran took on the finishing task. Dhoni in the middle overs is also a question mark given his issues against spinners, and leg-spinners in particular, which most teams have an abundance of.

With better players of high pace in the death also in the line-up, the blunt fact is that CSK do not actually need Dhoni the batsman in the team. In a game where they showed the right intent and used the depth of their batting well, a rather strange question emerges: Are we heading into a season where Dhoni bats only if it’s actually necessary?

From pushing himself up the order in the World Cup final in 2011 to likely demoting himself in quite a few games for CSK this season, Dhoni’s 10-year challenge seems complete.

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