Last Updated on 5 years by Charbel Coorey

CSK Analysis: No mistake in MS Dhoni’s captaincy, needs combinational change

For a team that has thrived on stability, Chennai Super Kings are stuck in a strange situation currently. Coach Stephen Fleming admitted that they have been a bit muddled with their options.

Perhaps, he was suggesting towards attaining some more clarity in their method going ahead in the tournament. He is not wrong. CSK have had few things going their way and certainly might need a stimulus to aid them acquire some momentum in the season. There are some valid concerns over the team. But, erratic apprehensions have been cast across the last two games that need some addressing too.

Firstly, the point about MS Dhoni demoting himself down the order that has attracted some wild statements from expected quarters. It’s alright to criticize a player who lacks purpose despite being in the thick of things. Not someone who willingly admits to his lack of form owing to being out of touch for a considerable period of time. Dhoni did acknowledge that he hasn’t played for long and hence felt the need to promote other batsmen ahead of him in the steep chase against Rajasthan Royals.

Also read: Gautam Gambhir criticises Dhoni after Chennai Super Kings’ loss to Rajasthan Royals

Then, there are individuals who stress on players being ready to come out and bat in any situation if they have signed up a contract with their franchise. Okay, that’s true. Not in the case of MS Dhoni and CSK.

People tend to forget that he is out of national team action for now for everyone to outlandishly expect him keep up the same level of performances. He is part of a franchise that is defined the way it is because of him. The men he is answerable to are the ones who proclaim him to be “priceless” and have held his back even on occasions when the entirety cricketing fraternity turned against him.

CSK are very well aware of him lacking touch with the willow currently. But they go all out in Dhoni’s defence because they understand that the man is central to their future even from the sidelines.

MSD is 39 currently. He’s only going to be around for a short while now, maybe a few seasons at best. But the IPL will go on and CSK will have a legacy to live up to thereafter. So, they are going to have a bunch of players who encounter, understand and overcome situations like the ones that the team has faced in the last two games. When Dhoni sent the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Kedar Jadhav, Sam Curran ahead of him in the previous couple of games, it was an opportunity for these players to test the waters.

You can only take a horse to a pond but can’t make it drink the water. Lots have been said of these players rubbing shoulders with the best brain in the game and learning the tricks of the trade from the skipper. However, they need to be sent into such scenarios that test their adeptness at bailing the team out of precarious moments in the game. These are experiments that pay off at times, or they falter miserably.

But, guess what? Dhoni has the liberty to try out these alternatives at the start of the season. Because, he is there to build a team that continues to flourish even when he is gone. For that, these players need to be tried in demanding situations. A couple of losses are no big price for this process. CSK isn’t a franchise that will switch captains according to the instantaneous whims and fancies of the owners. Neither will they stick to a leader with prolonged periods of underwhelming returns.

The trust that Dhoni has earned over the years from the top-brass of the club rightfully enables him to work around his options without fearing a straight dismissal from the decision-makers. He was the goddamn vice-president of the former parent company of CSK at one point in time. Do you really think that he will not have the freedom to get in the groove midway through the competition or test some fringe players ahead of him in a crunch chase?

Now, one can delve into the combinations that CSK are trying at the moment. Suresh Raina’s absence maybe compelled the team-management to believe that they need an extra batsman in the lineup. Having the cushion of additional batters succeeds when individuals in the middle can play in the accordance with the demands of the game.

For two matches in a row, Kedar Jadhav could not instill any steam in the chase. He came in at situations when the team needed some significant run-scoring push and he left the crease by only worsening the course of the innings. Jadhav is stocky, has a strong bottom-hand and wrists but he remains suspect against express pace that he will come up against in the second-half of the innings.

Secondly, Ruturaj Gaikwad has arguably flattered to deceive for all his promise. One can sympathize with for having contracted COVID-19 ahead of the tournament. One can even ward off his first-ball duck against RR considering the required run rate at that point and that it was his debut game. However, yesterday’s chase was a modest one in all probability. He was pitted against spin duo of Amit Mishra and Axar Patel, which is a favored match-up for a domestic batsman in the IPL.

However, Gaikwad looked jittery right from the offset. Neither could he get going at run-a-ball, nor did he extend his stay to compensate for the initial dots that he played. The 23-year-old looked a bit unsure in dealing Mishra and Patel’s clever deliveries and succumbed eventually after pulling the run rate further down. CSK lost the game in the middle-overs on Friday.

To be honest, Chennai have persistently been slow starters in the last couple of years. However, the likes of Raina and Dhoni allowed them to accelerate or keep up with the rate in the middle overs before going for the kill in the end. Right now, the only boost comes in the end for CSK, with the game out of reach.

So, they can look to replace the personnel in the middle and add up a dasher upfront in the innings so that the required rate is pacified in the first six overs. This makes the job easier between 6-15 overs. Moreover, the current playing XI isn’t ideal for the captain that Dhoni is.

MS isn’t a skipper who prefers his spinners bowling the safe overs in the middle of the innings and finishing off conventionally with merely five bowlers. He likes having his options on the table, making different choices as the game progresses. He reads the intent of the batsmen and picks his bowlers accordingly.

For instance, Ravindra Jadeja had bowled only a handful of overs in the start of IPL 2018. He seemed to be struggling to get his form back and conceded plenty of runs in return. Dhoni didn’t bother. He made him bowl only a solitary or two overs to start off. As Jadeja recovered his mojo, the spinner bowled his full quota in the back end of the tournament and aided his team in lifting the trophy eventually.

But the skipper persisted with him in the XI even when he was out of touch. Dhoni could do so then because of the plethora of bowling options that he had in hand. The current XI deprives him of his innate ability to pull a rabbit out of his hat whilst leading the side. CSK need to allow an influx of players who fulfill the aforementioned criterion.

Bring Mitchell Santner in?

Hence, here’s a suggestion: Make Mitchell Santner open the innings with Shane Watson. The Aussie managed to get starts in the last two games. However, he was dismissed in the quest of upping the scoring rate. That mantle shouldn’t fall at him completely. Santner is no novice with the bat. He has a classical approach but can clear the 30-yard circle with his strokes and maintain a formidable run-rate in the initial six overs.

CSK lack a left-handed batsman up top in absence of Raina too. Santner can fill that gaping hole. He will take on the bowlers as Watson settles down. Axar Patel dismissed the right-handed batsman yesterday and teams might look to deploy a left-arm off-spinner in order to challenge him in the powerplay. No issues, CSK will have Santner to deal with that enticing match-up too. All in all, this will reduce the burden off the middle-order and the coming batsmen will have a scoring rate that is well within their reach too.

Simon Doull had in fact suggested that the Kiwi all-rounder might open the innings for CSK from 2020 in one of the Cricbuzz Live episodes last year. That time is here. Santner will also take some burden off Jadeja. If the player from Saurashtra has a bad bowling day, the overseas player will complete his quota of overs, thus allowing MS that flexibility. For this, the team might have to sacrifice Josh Hazlewood. That’s alright though. CSK aren’t averse to playing an all-Indian bowling lineup.

For all the flak that Shardul Thakur receives, he has been pretty handy for India in T20Is since his return in January, as explained here. CSK is one-batsman heavy right now, as accepted by Dhoni the post-match presentation yesterday. So, Karn Sharma can be drafted in the XI too. The lack of an extra batsman will make MS play at 4/5. This will give him enough time to be in a situation to change the momentum of the game and not chase something extraordinary from an unfeasible scenario.

CSK’s spinners have fallen short of control and improvisation in the previous few games. For a better part of his IPL career, Karn Sharma has maintained a laudable economy rate. He can stick to a wicket-to-wicket line, and act up as an option instead of Chawla if the latter’s day goes wrong.

Four spinners, three pacers, a quick scorer up top and an appropriate batting slot for almost all batsmen involved, the following XI can ensure MS Dhoni creates something special out of a hesitant team currently.

A CSK XI that can deliver:

Shane Watson, Mitchell Santner, Faf du Plessis, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Piyush Chawla, Karn Sharma.

“You know I have a lot of cars and bikes in my house. I don’t ride all at a time,” Dhoni had said after the first Qualifier of IPL 2018 explaining why he didn’t let Harbhajan Singh bowl a single over despite keeping him in the team.

It’s time that he gets all his bikes and cars back on the field.

Written by Tarkesh Jha. Follow Tarkesh on Twitter today.