MS Dhoni Has Some Small, Clinical Cricketing Issues To Sort Out: Sanjay Manjrekar

Chennai Super Kings, led by MS Dhoni, are at the bottom of the table in the current edition of IPL. The three-time champions have lost two out of three games after winning the opening match of the tournament against the arch-rivals Mumbai Indians convincingly by five wickets. Former Indian cricketer and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has underlined the changes MS Dhoni needs to bring to succeed.

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The likes of Shane Watson, MS Dhoni, and Ravindra Jadeja, who are match-winners, have failed to get going and produce the goods this season. The pressure has fallen on Faf Du Plessis, who has batted with intent in all three games to put the opposition in a spot of bother. The absence of Ambati Rayudu, who played a stellar knock in the tournament opener, has further hurt the Super Kings.

Sanjay Manjrekar hailed MS Dhoni, the skipper for guiding the Super Kings to three titles, something that other captains might not have been able to do with the franchise. Manjrekar forecasted the life beyond the keeper-batsman for the yellow army; however, at present, the 39-year old must introduce some tweaks to his captaincy. The former commentator believes that Dhoni must keep an additional bowling option on a batting paradise since Ravindra Jadeja’s overs are proving unreliable in the UAE.

“Any other captain would not be able to extract what Dhoni does from this team and when Chennai eventually have to look at life beyond Dhoni, we may see a completely different structure of the team, unless Dhoni still remains the cricket nerve centre of the franchise, then maybe not. But this would be interesting to see in the coming years. For now Dhoni has some small, clinical cricketing issues to sort out – on a good pitch he must have an additional bowling option, most teams are now starting to do that. At Chennai they could afford to rely on Jadeja to bowl his 4, in UAE for now at least, it’s an unreliable tactic,” the 55-year old wrote in his column for the Times of India.

“They look towards MS Dhoni for salvation” : Sanjay Manjrekar

Sanjay Manjrekar added that MS Dhoni’s men have rarely found themselves in a position as they are at present. The fans look towards MS Dhoni for a turnaround as the Super Kings’ approach has been questionable so far. Manjrekar feels that CSK is equivalent to Mumbai Indians in terms of having match-winners; however, their captain needs to contribute actively to produce the desired results. Hence, they need to get their campaign back on track as Chennai face the SunRisers Hyderabad on Friday.

“Chennai Super Kings as a team has rarely been under pressure in the league stage. This time they are. Even their die-hard fans have gone quiet on social media, they seem a little concerned. They look towards MS Dhon for salvation. Chennai’s approach has been very unique in the tournament, it’s a team that is the opposite of Mumbai, who have virtually every member in their team capable of winning a T20 game on their own. Chennai may not compare with Mumbai as well, in this regard, but as a unit it is a match-winning one. And for this to happen they need MS Dhoni at the helm,” he added.

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