Syed Kirmani has taken apart those who are criticizing CSK skipper MS Dhoni for non-performance in IPL 2020. In the IPL 2020, he had an indifferent run both as skipper and batsman as the dashing finisher could not finish the games for CSK who are now placed 7th in points table ahead of only Kings XI Punjab having only four points with two wins and as many as five losses.
MS Dhoni retired from international cricket in Independence Day, 2020 ending a glorious career that saw him as the only captain to win all ICC trophies including both 50 overs and T20 World Cups in 2011 and 2007 respectively. But he continues to lead CSK who are struggling in both batting and bowling in IPL 2020.
Syed Kirmani: Finisher MS Dhoni’s Return After Long Gap Affected Performance
MS Dhoni is the captain of CSK that doesn’t include Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh, both of whom opted out before the start of IPL 2020. The lacklustre and inconsistent form of batsmen like Murali Vijay, Kedar Jadhav, Rituraj Gaekwad has hurt CSK the most, and the bowlers like Piyush Chawla, Deepak Chahar and Ravindra Jadeja have been too expensive.
“We must not forget that Dhoni had been one of the best finishers of the game at one point of time. He is returning to cricket after a long sabbatical and it has impacted Mahi’s (Dhoni) performance in this IPL season,” he stated.
“At this age people don’t have that much agility left, compared to youngsters. Besides, a player has lots of tension regarding his future endeavours. It’s natural and obvious and we must accept it,” Kirmani added.
To add to their poor form, Dwayne Bravo and Ambati Rayudu were injured and couldn’t play some matches. Suresh Raina is the leading run-scorer of CSK with over 5000 runs while Harbhajan Singh is among the top five wicket-takers in IPL history with 150 wickets. Their absence is felt, and surprisingly, CSK hasn’t named a replacement.
Syed Kirmani featured in 88 Tests and 49 ODIs where he managed to score at an average of less than 30 with two Test hundreds. The 70-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman Syed Kirmani is regarded as one of the finest wicketkeepers to play for India, Syed Kirmani was part of the 1983 World Cup which India won.
Positive And Negatives For CSK In IPL 2020
However, on the brighter side, Karn Sharma bowled well in the limited opportunities picking up two wickets averaging 29.5 while N Jagadeesan has played well scoring 33 in the only match against RCB which CSK lost. Shardul Thakur too looked impressive by picking seven wickets in four matches averaging 19.86.
Deepak Chahar averages a high 34.33 while Piyush Chawla has given away runs at 8.88 per over. Ravindra Jadeja has scored only 101 runs and picked only three wickets averaging 59.67 which is quite unacceptable.
On the other hand, Shane Watson has scored 199 runs in seven games, and Ambati Rayudu has scored 151 runs in five games and MS Dhoni could manage only 112 runs in seven matches. The only positive of CSK is a form of Faf Du Plessis who has scored 307 runs averaging 61.4 and is the third-highest scorer in IPL 2020.
The failure list includes Murali Vijay who has scored 32 runs in three games, Rituraj Gaekwad just five in two games and Kedar Jadhav has only managed 58 in six matches. Sam Curran has been impressive by scoring 68 runs and picking eight wickets from seven games. Lungi Ngidi has picked four wickets from two matches while Josh Hazlewood has gone wicketless in his only game. Surprisingly, Imran Tahir and Mitchell Santner haven’t played a game.