‘MS Dhoni- the captain is playing only with 5 bowlers’ – Aakash Chopra highlights CSK’s shortcomings in IPL 2020

Aakash Chopra, the former Indian cricketer, reckons that MS Dhoni has taken an uncharacteristic route in the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), playing only five specialist bowlers. Chopra said that CSK’s top-order issues have left Dhoni without a choice. Chopra mentioned that Dhoni’s worries are about Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayudu’s absence in the fragile middle-order.

Faf du Plessis is the Orange Cap holder with two fifties, but he hasn’t gotten much support from the others. Even Dhoni, himself, has been batting lower down the order for which he has been a recipient of some criticism from the experts and netizens.

MS Dhoni is not confident to play 6 bowlers, says Chopra

“For the first time in my memory, Dhoni the captain is playing only with 5 bowlers. He doesn’t like playing with 5 bowlers, but this time he is,” Chopra was quoted as saying on his YouTube channel.

“He is a bit concerned about his batting; the absence of Rayudu is a big concern. He is not 100% confident about his batting form. With Ruturaj Gaikwad coming in and Murali Vijay not making runs, he is not confident to play 6 bowlers.”

Chopra also said that Ravindra Jadeja’s indifferent form with the ball in hand hasn’t helped Dhoni and CSK by any means. In three matches, the left-armer has picked two wickets and leaked runs at an economy of 10.50 from 12 overs. Among the CSK bowlers, he has the worst average of 63.

“If you observe Jadeja this season, he has bowled 4 overs in all three matches and conceded more than 40 runs each time. If he is going to leak so many runs, you have got nowhere else to go. No one else is bowling, only 5 bowlers in the team. That’s very unlike Dhoni but it’s happening,” he added.

In the bowling department, Sam Curran has arguably been the best with five wickets at an economy of 7.33. Josh Hazlewood, who replaced Lungi Ngidi in the eleven, couldn’t get a wicket, but he was frugal with a rate of seven. CSK are next scheduled to lock horns with the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Friday, October 2 in Dubai.