‘Send Dhoni up and let him smash’– Harbhajan Singh questions CSK’s batting strategy in IPL 2025

As the IPL 2025 (Indian Premier League) competition progresses, the MS Dhoni controversy is intensifying, with numerous analysts critiquing his performance for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). In addition to expressing his thoughts on Dhoni, former CSK spinner Harbhajan Singh has offered data on his performances since the 2023 Indian Premier League.

Due to his appearances at odd positions in the lineup, Dhoni’s batting position has been one of the main topics of discussion during the tournament. Ravindra Jadeja was sent ahead of him when he batted at number seven in the previous game. The former captain of India has averaged more runs in defeats than in wins for CSK, according to data cited by Harbhajan Singh, who criticised the management’s decision.

“I’d like to share some statistics. Dhoni sahab bahut bade khiladi hain, par jab woh aaye hain, match khatam ho chuka thi (Dhoni has been a stellar player, but the game was almost done by the time he batted). Since the 2023 Indian Premier League, Dhoni has only managed to score three runs in nine deliveries while chasing in winning causes, failing to hit a boundary or six. However, Dhoni has amassed 166 runs in 84 balls with 13 fours and 13 sixes in losing situations, Harbhajan posted on his YouTube page.

This indicates that Dhoni has an average of merely 8 in games that CSK has won and 49 in games that they have lost. Who wants to see games end? And this is a big problem that CSK needs to address, in my opinion,” the four-time IPL winner continued.

For a better batting position, Harbhajan Singh supports MS Dhoni.

Additionally, Harbhajan Singh stated that he would rather see MS Dhoni bat higher in the order since it would allow him to focus on his strengths and score more runs, which would help the team in the long term.

“This requires a different perspective from the team management. Dhoni should be left alone and sent up. It would be important if he scored runs, so tell him to smash. There’s not much to complain about otherwise. Harbhajan came to the conclusion that although he continues to crush them, these statistics aren’t showing up.