IPL 2020: MS Dhoni On The Brink Of Leaving Behind AB De Villiers In Elite List

Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni will return to competitive cricket for the first time in more than a year on Saturday. MS Dhoni’s return is one of the many things that the cricketing fraternity has been waiting for keenly. The 39-year old, who is one of the most successful IPL skippers, is on the cusp of leaving behind AB De Villiers concerning a key statistic.

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MS Dhoni retired from international cricket more than a month ago, bringing curtains on a decorated and illustrious career. The keeper-batsman captained the nation to all the ICC trophies, donning the national colours in 350 ODIs, 98 Tests, and 90 Tests from 2004 to 2019. His final international game was the semi-final of the 2019 World Cup against New Zealand, in which Dhoni made a battling fifty in a losing cause.

Meanwhile, MS Dhoni remains only four sixes adrift of crossing AB De Villiers’ 212. The CSK skipper so far as 209 and need to put the ball over the fence four times to go past the former South African skipper. However, with De Villiers also participating in the IPL, it would be a neck to neck battle between the two. Kings XI Punjab batsman Chris Gayle heads the list with 326 maximums under his belt.

Irfan Pathan advises bowlers to be cautious of MS Dhoni:

Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan asked the bowlers to steer clear of MS Dhoni, who could bat the way before becoming the Indian captain. Irfan Pathan himself received a hammering from the Jharkhand cricketer in IPL 2010 when he smashed 54 off 28 balls. Pathan reckoned that Dhoni is the player to watch out for in IPL 2020 and all other factors like age and lack of competitive cricket hardly matter. The 35-year old believes Dhoni will play with absolute freedom, which makes him a dangerous prospect.

“All the bowlers, please watch out! Be careful when you are bowling against Mahendra Singh Dhoni. We might see the Dhoni that we saw before he became the Indian captain. Before he became the captain, he didn’t have that extra responsibility, so he used to play freely. As I say in Hindi “Woh bebaak hoke khelega” (he will play uninhibitedly).

If that happens, the bowlers will lose control. So it’s very difficult for all the bowlers to get going against Dhoni. Don’t look at his age, don’t look at that he hasn’t played cricket for so long. Don’t look at those things. He will be the player to watch out for this reason and I am pretty certain as well that we might see Dhoni bludgeoning the bowlers and playing freely, the way he used to before he became the captain. I totally expect that,” Pathan told Times of India.

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