CSK skipper MS Dhoni has kept demoting himself down in the batting order in IPL 2023. CSK batting coach Mike Hussey has revealed the reason behind MS Dhoni batting down in the lineup as he stated that the skipper is nursing a knee injury and doesn’t want to make it worse.
MS Dhoni has been nursing a knee injury throughout the IPL 2023 tournament. Despite his injury, the CSK skipper has kept wickets in all the games while playing useful cameos towards the end of the innings batting as low as number 8.
MS Dhoni’s knee has not been 100 percent: Mike Hussey
“I think it’s pretty clear that he likes to come in the last few overs, that’s his plan. It’s been well-documented that his knee has not been 100 percent and he’s trying to get through the matches as best as he can throughout the tournament,” Hussey said in a pre-match press conference ahead of CSK’s final league game against Delhi Capitals.
“So, I think, he doesn’t want to come in the 10th, 11th, or 12th over and have to run those quick doubles all the time, that’s going to put pressure on the knee. He’s trying to delay coming in as long as possible and having that impact late in the innings. He shows a lot of backing and faith in the likes of (Shivam) Dube, (Ravindra) Jadeja, (Ajinkya) Rahane and (Ambati) Rayudu to do the job before he comes in,” the CSK batting coach further explained the reason behind MS Dhoni batting down the order.
The CSK skipper has been very vocal about batting lower down the order. In one of the post-match presentations, he said that he has told the other batters to not lose their wickets early and not make him run, so as to make everyone’s job easy. During the game against DC, Dhoni was seen hobbling and finding it difficult to take singles and doubles due to his knee injury.
Despite nursing an injury, MS Dhoni has made sure to give important contributions with the bat at the death overs for Chennai Super Kings. He smashed Mark Wood for back-to-back sixes in the game against LSG and did the same off Sam Curran’s bowling in the game against Punjab Kings.
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The CSK side are currently at the number 2 position in the IPL 2023 points table with 7 victories in 13 games. They will play their last league game against the Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium and will look to grab 2 crucial points to book a slot for the playoffs.