Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has expressed his disappointment concerning Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni‘s repetitive dismissals against googlies in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.
Dhoni was cleaned up by Punjab Kings (PBKS) leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi in Thursday afternoon’s encounter between CSK and PBKS at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. On the last ball of the 12th over of CSK innings, Bishnoi went for a classic googly which MSD inside-edged onto his stumps while going for a drive.
Pathan spoke about Dhoni’s dismissal, stating the veteran stumper is not able to read googlies which is quite disheartening. The Baroda-born justified his take by mentioning that it wasn’t the first time Dhoni got out while facing a googly as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy had also similarly puzzled the Ranch-born superstar in the cash-rich league.
“It is very disappointing to see him bat like that. It is understandable if you get out against the fast bowlers, but Dhoni is not able to read the googly. It has happened repeatedly. It is not that it has happened for the first time. He got out to the googly against Varun Chakravarthy as well,” said Pathan on Star Sports.
Moreover, Pathan highlighted that incoming deliveries have troubled Dhoni on quite a few occasions. The 27-year-old explained the reason behind this and said this happens when a player uses his bottom hand a lot.
“Before this also, when the ball is coming on the stumps, and he is not getting the chance to free his arms, there are problems. Here again, the ball was coming in from outside the off stump, he got an inside edge, this happens when you use the bottom hand a lot,” added Pathan.
In the ongoing fourteenth season of the lucrative league, Dhoni’s poor run with the bat has been one of the biggest concerns for the Super Kings. In 14 matches, the CSK skipper has only made 96 runs at a dreadful average of 13.71 and a strike rate of 95, with 18 being his highest score.
