BEYOND THE BOUNDARY : Has Dhoni lost his Midas touch?

As on October 9 (before the result between Rajasthan Royals & Delhi Capitals), Chennai Super Kings, surprisingly, is placed at number 6 after winning only 2 out of their 6 games. If anyone had foretold this occurrence before this IPL had begun, he would have been labelled as a novice or a maniac.

Not long ago, everything that M.S.Dhoni touched would turn into gold. A man of few words, Dhoni had announced his retirement on August 15, 2020, via a Dhoni-like tweet to end all the pandemonium surrounding his retirement from International Cricket. Apparently, the heartbroken fans across the globe had to wait with their tongues hanging out for IPL 2020. But the wait to see the heroics of their beloved cricketer was accentuated by the unanticipated pandemic. Nevertheless, now that the IPL is in full flux, it would be an understatement to say that the much-awaited show of Dhoni & Chennai Super Kings has been mediocre.

Chennai has always been a very good starter, let alone the most consistent team of IPL. No one can deny the unparalleled role MSD has played in making CSK an invincible looking team. By no means, this catastrophic dip in performance can’t happen to any team or that they can’t bounce back from this early setback. For all those dubious minds, IPL 2018 is a great reminder of CSK’s prowess to make a strong come back.

Yet, the most staggering and disheartening thing about CSK’s performance has been their humdrum body language & tactics. It’s been really flat - bereft of intent. Everytime they step on the field, they give the impression of just going through the motions. A high ratio of veteran cricketers in the playing 11 is bound to take a toll on the fielding part so a benefit of doubt could be given for the poor fielding presentation. Here, the talking point is the lack of will and hunger to win. For some reason, that drive of staying on top have been found wanting. Having already achieved almost everything as a captain & quitting the international cricket, is Dhoni beginning to show signs of contentment which is rubbing off on the team too? After all, a leader is the one who injects enthusiasm and energy within the squad.

Loss of Suresh Raina who has been the mainstay of CSK’s batting for all those years was the last thing Dhoni would have wanted. Unavailability of Dwayne Bravo, their go-to bowler, has only compounded the bowling woes. An in-form Ambati Rayudu getting injured after his match-winning performance in the very first game hasn’t helped the team’s cause. To some extent you can argue that CSK is marred by inaccessibility of their polestar players. However, Dhoni is known to extract the best out of the ordinary players. So, why is he not able to eke out match-winning performances from the resources at hand this time?

Moreover, being a team loaded with quality spinners, CSK has probably suffered a great loss of home advantage – not playing on those dry & dusty tracks of Chepauk in Chennai. Even an astute cricketing brain like Dhoni has failed to come up with effective counter plans. Probably, it’s time, either the personnel or the strategems need a revision, if not both.

Faf du plesis is their only consistent performer with bat this season. Sam Curran has probably gained Dhoni’s trust like many others in the past. Bravo provides the much needed balance to the playing eleven and also takes care of the difficult death-overs. Shane Watson is probably the only one foreign player who looks likely to be replaced. Albeit knowing Dhoni’s theory of backing his players, the chances of this is quite meagre, even then, if it happens, who should replace Watto? Imran Tahir or Josh Hazlewood could easily fill in his spot.

Let Sam Curran & Faf open the innings (it will also provide the left-right combination advantage). Let Sam do exactly the same thing he has been doing – providing the required impetus down the order. Let Rayudu & Faf control the pace of the innings. Let Dhoni bat at 4. so that he can bide his time before exploding (he has been struggling of late to power the ball over boundary ropes at will). Let Kedar (if there are no better options available for replacing him) along with Jadeja & Bravo give the finishing touch if Dhoni falters.

Let Hazlewood & Deepak Chahar take the new ball responsibilties. Let Shardul Thakur go for wickets in the middle over while Karan Sharma (as Piyush Chawla has not been up to the mark) and Jadeja could play a role of containing the run flow. If Tahir is playing, let Curran or Shardul share the new ball with Chahar. Use Tahir as an attacking option in the middle overs to break the momentum of opponents. Identify the bowler who will assist Bravo in the death overs. 

Find a template.

CSK hinges immensely on the finishing touches and shrewd tactics from skipper MSD, so ideally, they would love to see Dhoni regain his Midas touch, if not, something has to change in CSK’s approach before it gets too late.

Only time will tell. But one thing is for sure, the downfall of CSK has been very shocking. It would be really interesting & exciting to see if Dhoni can still flick his magic wand to pull out a rabbit from his hat.