IPL 2025: MS Dhoni's Return to CSK Captaincy Flops as Nightmare Run vs Sunil Narine Continues

There was plenty of anticipation for the return of MS Dhoni as Chennai Super Kings captain ahead of their IPL 2025 match against Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday (April 11). However, Dhoni's first innings as a batter for CSK as skipper ended in disaster. 

Dhoni could only manage one run in the 4 balls he faced and was dismissed leg before wicket (LBW) by Sunil Narine, a bowler who has troubled him plenty of times in the past. 

To make matters worse for CSK, Dhoni's poor showing came at a time when their batting collectively failed against KKR. 

CSK were 72-7 when Dhoni came in to bat and he could not help add a final flourish to their innings. 

Dhoni's Narine Nightmare

It also continued the poor showings that Dhoni has had when faced with West Indian all-rounder Narine. 

Dhoni's head-to-head record against Narine makes for poor reading - he has faced him in 16 IPL innings and has scored only 39 runs against him in 75 balls. 

In those deliveries, Dhoni has managed to score just 39 runs at a strike rate of 52. 

To make matters worse, Dhoni has failed to score a six against Narine and has only scored 1 four off him. 

Question Marks Over Batting Position

There's also the fact that Dhoni once again came in to bat very late - he sent the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and even emergency Impact Player Deepak Hooda ahead of him. 

And when he finally came in to the field of play, CSK had already lost 7 wickets. 

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Dhoni had started coming in higher up the order after he was criticised for coming in at No. 9 during CSK's loss against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. 

But he was once again coming in to bat at a time when hope already looked lost for the home team.