‘More for brand value’: MS Dhoni’s presence in Chennai Super Kings not for cricketing reasons, says Sanjay Manjrekar

The big news surrounding Chennai Super Kings was their recent defeat against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Friday at their home ground of M Chidambaram Stadium. It wasn’t because they lost comprehensively by 50 runs to their arch-rivals but more so because they allowed RCB to break their 17-year jinx of never beating the home side at the ‘Anbu Den’.

However, once the dust settled, the big talking point was MS Dhoni’s place in the batting order, as the talismanic 43-year-old batted at #9 against RCB, leaving many fans frustrated and scratching their heads. This is more so because Dhoni, despite being towards the end of his career, seems to still have it in to hit big as evidenced by his little cameo against RCB. He smashed 3 fours and 2 big sixes as he scored 30* (16) in an entertaining innings albeit in a losing cause. With many people calling for him to bat higher up the order, cricket commentator and former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar feels Dhoni is in the team for reasons other than his cricketing ability.

Speaking to JioHotstar ahead of Sunday’s encounter between RR and CSK in Guwahati, Manjrekar said: “I continue to maintain my stance this season that Dhoni’s presence in the team is more for brand value than actual cricketing value. That is the decision CSK has taken — he brings in the crowd and has an enormous following. If Dhoni chooses to bat at No. 8, he will still contribute some runs. Even at No. 9, 10, or 11, he has the ability. However, I don’t think CSK is relying on Dhoni’s batting contributions; they are expecting the other players to do the job. That said, his wicket-keeping remains top-notch.”

Fans and experts agree

This sentiment has been echoed by cricketing experts and fans alike. Irfan Pathan took to X and stated: “I will never be in favour of Dhoni batting at number 9. Not ideal for team” while another user on X shared a video of Dhoni’s big hits against RCB with the caption: “I don’t get one thing: when MS Dhoni can score runs and hit boundaries, why can’t he move a bit higher up in the batting order? He can still bat better than many above him.”

Former CSK batsman and Dhoni’s teammate further added to the opinion, posting on X after RCB’s win saying: “Important win for RCB. A win at the fortress in Chepauk will be a huge boost in their campaign this year. Dhoni coming at number 9 dint (didn’t) make sense at all. Him coming earlier could have helped CSK’s NRR in their campaign this year.”

Dhoni has played 266 IPL matches in his career, scoring 5,273 runs at a strike rate of 137.68 and an average of 39.35, and most of them have come higher up the order. However, as he’s gotten older, Dhoni has slotted himself lower down the batting order and usually comes out to the middle in the back end of the innings. In IPL 2024, he scored 161 runs at a strike rate of 220.55 and an average of 53.67 in 14 matches.

It remains to be seen if skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad and the CSK think tank revisit this strategy of sending Dhoni late in the batting order.

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