Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh, who won two World Cups under the captaincy of MS Dhoni, made a sensational statement after the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) win over the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) match on May 5 (Sunday). Harbhajan slammed Dhoni for demoting himself in the batting order and walking out to bat at No.9 during the match against the PBKS. Interestingly, Dhoni was dismissed for a golden duck by Harshal Patel after he walked to bat behind Shardul Thakur.
Harbhajan hit out at Dhoni for letting his team down and affirmed that it's hard to understand by the CSK's poster boy is making such mistakes.
"MS Dhoni shouldn’t play if he wants to bat at the number nine slot. It is better to include a fast bowler than him in the playing XI. He is the decision-maker and has let down his team by not coming out to bat," said Harbhajan on Star Sports.
"Thakur can never hit shots like Dhoni and I don’t understand why Dhoni made this mistake. Nothing happens without his permission and I am not ready to accept that this decision to demote him was taken by someone else, he added.
Irfan Pathan echoes Harbhajan's sentiments
Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan also lashed out at MS Dhoni for demoting himself in the batting order. Irfan urged Dhoni to bat up the order, especially because he is in tremendous form.
"MS Dhoni batting at No.9 doesn't work for CSK, it's doesn't help the team's cause. I know that he is 42, but he is in solid form. He should be taking the responsibility of batting up the order. He should bat for at least 4 to 5 overs. He is batting for the last over or last 2 overs and that doesn't serve the purpose for CSK for a long term," Pathan told Star Sports.
"It might happen that we will see CSK qualify for the playoffs from here on and they need to win 90 percent of their games. As a proper senior guy, who's in form, he needs to bat up the order. He can't be doing the same thing that he has done on quite a few occasions. Yes, he made an impact against Mumbai, but here, when the team needed him, you can't send Shardul Thakur ahead of yourself. You can't see Dhoni batting at No.9. Sameer Rizvi was also padded up in the 15th over. They need to work out something; someone has to tell Dhoni, 'Come on mate, bat for 4 overs," Pathan added.
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