Former Indian cricketer Subramaniam Badrinath opined that MS Dhoni, the legendary Indian cricketer, should make himself available for CSK's final home match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
Chennai Super Kings could not make a promising start to the season; however, they then made a turnaround in the competition and went on to win 6 matches this season after having played twelve matches in this edition of the competition.
The next two wins have now turned out to be must-wins for Chennai and Ruturaj Gaikwad, as he eyes the first playoff with the Men in Yellow as the skipper of the side. MS Dhoni was ruled out ahead of the start of the season with a calf injury.
Ex-CSK batter asks MS Dhoni to play CSK's final home match at Chepauk
There have been several speculations over the potential retirement of Super Kings star batter MS Dhoni, who had once led them to five IPL titles in a career that has now nearly spanned two decades.
He opined that Dhoni, who has not played a single game throughout the season, should finally make himself available for the upcoming games against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. This is their last game at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
"The question remains if MS Dhoni will play at Chepauk one final time. It will be his personal decision. But for the sake of fans, it'll be huge if he just keeps it for a few overs and bats as the Impact Sub," opined Subramaniam Badrinath.
"I'll plead with Ruturaj and Fleming.": Badrinath pleads with CSK management for Akeal Hosein's inclusion
Alongside the veteran MS Dhoni, Subramaniam Badrinath also opined that Chennai Super Kings management, including Ruturaj Gaikwad and Stephen Fleming, should consider having the likes of Akeal Hosein in the playing XI against SRH.
He doubted that since the SRH top order is heavily composed of left-arm batters, bowling with Akeal Hosein in the powerplay would surely cause a matchup benefit to the Sunrisers; hence, CSK might decide against his inclusion.
"Akeal Hosein's presence in the lineup also might be in doubt with SRH's top three being left-handers. But I'll plead with Ruturaj and Fleming to bring him into the side," he stated.
"They have to play out of their skins to beat SRH," said Badrinath
Following the defeat against the Lucknow Super Giants, CSK's way to the playoffs has been dented, especially with their next game scheduled against one of the toughest oppositions in the competition, the Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Not only do Chennai Super Kings have to win the remaining two matches, but they will also have to have the results in a way that they can lead to a surplus of run rate, which will secure a spot in the playoffs.
"CSK obviously have to win their remaining two matches. But even if they do, it's going to be hard for them to qualify with 16 points, also because their net run rate took a beating in this game. But CSK can't beat SRH with such selections and a flat performance like this. They have to play out of their skins to beat SRH," said Badrinath (via the aforementioned source).
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