'Should not play at all': Harbhajan Singh wants CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad to drop MS Dhoni

Harbhajan Singh, a former cricketer, and ex-teammate of MS Dhoni in both the Indian national team and IPL, voiced strong criticism towards Dhoni's decision to bat at number nine during the recent IPL match between Chennai Super Kings and Punjab Kings. 

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Harbhajan Singh wants Ruturaj Gaikwad to drop Dhoni

Despite CSK losing early wickets, MS Dhoni's placement in the batting order drew Harbhajan Singh's ire, who suggested that it would be better for Dhoni not to play at all if he intends to come in so late for batting. 

Harbhajan Singh went on to suggest that CSK could benefit from playing a specialist bowler instead of MS Dhoni if he persists with batting so down the order. He also hinted at Dhoni's influential role in team decisions, implying that the decision to bat at number nine was likely influenced by Dhoni himself rather than captain Ruturaj Gaikwad or the team management.

“If MS Dhoni is coming to bat at number 9, then it's better to play a pure bowler. If you know you can't bat up the order, you should not play at all. He is the decision-maker and has let down his team by not coming out to bat further up the order,” Harbhajan Singh said as quoted as saying on Star Sports by Sporting News. 

“Shardul Thakur came ahead of him. Thakur can never hit shots like Dhoni and I don’t understand why Dhoni made this mistake. Nothing happens without his permission and I am not ready to accept that this decision to demote him was taken by someone else,” Harbhajan added. 

"CSK were in a need of quick runs and Dhoni has done that in the previous games. It was shocking that he stayed back in the important contest against Punjab Kings. Even if CSK win today, I will still call out Dhoni. Let people say anything. I will say what is right," Harbhajan remarked.

Note, that these quotes have been translated from Hindi commentary to English and may differ from original wordings. 

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As far as the match between CSK and PBKS is concerned, the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side won by 28 runs. MS Dhoni was dismissed for a duck by Harshal Patel. This was only the second time MS Dhoni has been dismissed in the ongoing IPL 2024. That is also because he has come to bat with only a few balls remaining in most of the CSK games.