IPL 2021: Gautam Gambhir opens up on why MS Dhoni needs to work on CSK's batting order

The second phase of IPL 2021 gets underway on September 19 where MS Dhoni and his men will rub shoulders against Rohit Sharma and company. It remains to be seen if five-time champions will again have an upper hand over their arch-rivals. If CSK has to level up their one department, it has to be batting where they lagged last time and had a poor run in 2020 IPL. Even during the crunch situations, Dhoni came at no six or seven and promoted several young players.

In the same sequence, former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir says that skipper MSD has to work on CSK’s batting to have a fine run in the UAE, this time around. Gambhir feels that if he is demoting himself in the batting order, he is probably trying to act as a mentor and a wicketkeeper solely.

Gambhir stated that if there’s a situation that MS needs to play only 8-10 balls, he can probably do that but otherwise, it is getting difficult for him to get going in IPL because of being away from the international circuit now. The Ranchi hero quit the international circuit in August 2020.

MS Dhoni is probably trying to be a mentor and a wicketkeeper, says Gambhir

“MS was a player who would’ve actually batted at number 4 or 5 but we’ve seen in the first leg that he normally bats at number 6 or 7. There are times when he’s actually pushed Sam Curran before him as well. The reason behind this is that he’s probably trying to be a mentor and a wicketkeeper, who can lead the side and keep wickets,” said Gautam Gambhir on STAR SPORTS show GAME PLAN.

“If the situation comes to a point where he probably has to play 8 or 10 balls, he can just go out there and whack them. It’s going to be difficult for him, because once you are not playing international cricket; IPL is a very difficult tournament, it’s not like CPL and other leagues. IPL is where you face top-quality bowlers. For me, I think the biggest challenge for CSK will be that the top-order needs to fire because that’s not the case anymore,” added Gambhir