MS Dhoni should bat at No.3 this year in Suresh Raina's absence: Gautam Gambhir

Chennai Super Kings, on Saturday, suffered a massive blow after their vice-captain Suresh Raina opted out of IPL 2020 owing to personal reasons. Raina’s sudden exit from the tournament shocked the entire cricket fraternity, which was eager to witness him in action, especially after his international retirement.

CSK already has suffered a major setback as their 13 camp members including two players have tested COVID-19 positive. With the departure of Raina, CSK will now have a challenging task to fill the void and slot a player in his place.

Former India opener and BJP MP Gautam Gambhir has suggested that CSK skipper MS Dhoni should promote himself up the order and take charge of the No.3 position. Gambhir, on Star Sports’ Cricket Connected, said that Dhoni could anchor the innings by coming at No.3 position, followed by Kedar Jadhav, Dwayne Bravo and Sam Curran. Considering Dhoni’s vast experience, his promotion to No.3 will certainly help Chennai in getting off to a dominant start.

It’s going to be a great opportunity for someone like MS Dhoni: Gautam Gambhir

“It will be a good opportunity for MS Dhoni to come and bat at no. 3. And he has been away from the game for the last one year, so he would end up getting a lot more balls to face and then he can actually play the anchor innings as well which he has been doing for India for the last couple of years,” said Gambhir.

“So, MS Dhoni at No. 3 and then they have got depth with Kedar Jadhav, Dwayne Bravo, Sam Curran, all those guys they can come in. So, I think it is going to be a great opportunity for someone like MS Dhoni and I am sure he is going to relish that. Also, Suresh Raina not being there, you want to have some experienced player batting at No. 3, so it could be MS Dhoni now,” he further said.

The BCCI was slated to announce the official schedule of IPL 2020 by the end of August, with the season opener expected to be between CSK and MI. However, considering the current situation, the board has delayed the announcement and there’s a possibility about the opening fixture getting altered.

Meanwhile, CSK players will have to wait for a while to start their IPL 2020 preparations. They’re going to be in quarantine for another few weeks and then undergo rounds of testing. The infected members of the camp are expected to be in isolation for at least two weeks.