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Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) vice-captain Suresh Raina has sent shockwaves across the cricketing fandom after withdrawing his name from the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Raina’s departure has left a massive void in the CSK batting-order. He has been consistently punching above his weight while batting at No. 3 for over the years now. It wouldn’t be an easy task for the franchise to replace the player of his stature.
But, Raina feels that there is already an equally adept batsman in CSK to bat at No. 3 in the form of MS Dhoni.
“He has the experience to bat at that position. How can one forget Dhoni’s 148 against Pakistan in the second ODI at Visakhapatnam in April 2005? It’s a very crucial position and the No. 3 position will give Dhoni more flexibility,” said Raina in his recent interview to Outlook India.
Dhoni, however, prefers to come lower down the order and change the course of the match with his no-holds-barred pyrotechnics.
Gambhir too echoed the same sentiment
Earlier, former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir too remarked that Dhoni is the perfect player to replace Raina at No. 3.
Gambhir said Dhoni must utilize the opportunity and promote himself to No.3 since it will allow the latter to anchor the innings for his team.
“It will be a good opportunity for MS Dhoni to come and bat at No 3,” Gambhir said on Star Sports’ show Cricket Connected.
“And he has been away from the game for the last one year, so he would end up getting a lot more balls to face and then he can actually play the anchor innings as well which he has been doing for India for the last couple of years,” concluded Gambhir.
