It is unfair to expect MS Dhoni to bat as he did in his heydays: Aakash Chopra

Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni has struggled to get going with the willow in the 2021 edition of the IPL. In the 9 innings that he has played in the 14th season, the 40-year-old has scored just 84 runs at an average of 14.00 and a strike rate of less than 100.

Also, in the match against the Delhi Capitals (DC) on 4th October 2021, Dhoni scored a 27-ball 18 and failed to score even a single boundary in his stay out in the middle. And now, former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has opened up on Dhoni’s innings.

Chopra feels that it is unfair to expect Dhoni to bat in the same way he did during his heydays in the IPL. Chopra also added that Dhoni is not striking the ball well at present. Chopra opined that Ambati Rayudu played a brilliant knock against the Delhi side, and helped the CSK side post a competitive total on the board.

“Dhoni came up the order and the team was just crawling. It is unfair to expect that Dhoni is going to bat as he did in 2011, 2015 or 2017. He is not striking the ball well and had a strike rate of 66.

You might say the 66 strike rate was okay, if it was then Ambati Rayudu should also have run at the same pace. But Ambati Rayudu was brilliant and he once again played a good knock to take his team to a competitive score but not a winning score,” said Aakash Chopra while speaking on his YouTube Channel.

Shardul Thakur helped CSK make a match out of it: Aakash Chopra

Aakash Chopra added that ‘Lord’ Shardul Thakur made the match interesting with the way he bowled, but Dwayne Bravo conceded wide deliveries and sprayed the ball down the leg side. Chopra concluded by stating that CSK also dropped a catch as well on the field.

“Shardul came and made a match of it. You cannot leave Lord Thakur out, he again made the match very interesting. But Dwayne Bravo came to bowl at the end and he bowled wides and on the legs. A catch was also dropped and one ball was bowled outside the pitch,” concluded Chopra.