GT vs CSK: MS Dhoni told to discontinue playing for Chennai Super Kings as World Cup teammate raises questions

Former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh bashed his former CSK and India teammate MS Dhoni for his selfish decision to send Shardul Thakur ahead of him yesterday. 

Harbhajan Singh's comments came after MS Dhoni arrived to bat at the number 9 position instead of coming up higher in the order. As a result of this move, the Chennai Super Kings were not able to post a 170+ total at the picturesque HPCA stadium in Dharamshala. However, CSK's superb bowling performance saved the day as they eventually won by 28 runs. 

Harbhajan Singh doesn't want MS Dhoni to play 

While speaking to Star Sports after the match, Harbhajan Singh was more critical than ever after seeing MS Dhoni come to bat at number 9. Bhajji, along with other expert pundits, failed to understand the reasoning behind such a move given the fact that MSD is the best finisher that Chennai has in their team. 

Harbhajan Singh not only slammed MS Dhoni for coming in so late but he felt that he was eating up the spot of another player in the XI. Instead of having Dhoni, Bhajji advised the CSK management to include a fast bowler in the team and also admitted that MSD was making wrong use of his decision-making powers. 

"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." - Harbhajan Singh said via Star Sports.

Another possible reason behind Harbhajan Singh's anger was the fact that MS Dhoni was a guest of just 1 ball after arriving to bat at number 9. Punjab Kings seamer Harshal Patel deceived Dhoni with his trademark dipping off-cutter which the latter failed to pick up and swung his bat way early. 

Fans and expert pundits are really struggling to understand the thought process of MS Dhoni in IPL 2024 season. Whether he is playing for the sake of playing or is he wanting to give other players a chance or is he just being selfish about himself, it's quite hard to figure out.

It's not even that MS Dhoni is unfit or is unable to strike the ball cleanly. In some of the previous games, the 42-year-old has smacked the ball at 180+ strike rates but then why is he reluctant to help the team? When CSK could have scored at least 180, they had to settle down with just 167. 

Harbhajan Singh says he will call out Dhoni for his act yesterday

Harbhajan Singh then raised the point that the Chennai Super Kings were in dire need of 20-30 runs more and Dhoni has done that job before. So what on earth happened to him that he came to bat at 9? Bhajji admitted that he was shocked to see that and in spite of CSK's win, he will call out the 42-year-old regardless of what people say. 

"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." - Harbhajan concluded.