The IPL 2025 has seen quite a few stars taking a beating to their reputation. Rohit Sharma has not been in great form, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin have not been at their best touch while other reputed names have also not performed up to the potential. But what is happening to MS Dhoni is unthinkable. His position in the Chennai Super Kings XI is being questioned, especially after he came to bat extremely low down the order with CSK chasing in a couple of games.
But Chris Gayle, who has the highest individual score - 175* - in IPL history, however, backed Dhoni.
"With Dhoni, he brings a lot of value to the IPL. You want to see him as long as possible and want him to stay. You don't want to push him. When you start to hear that noise, people are going to send a wrong message to such a great player and a great person. You don't want to send such a message to a guy like Dhoni because he brings so much value in IPL,” Chris Gayle told Inside Sport.
“For someone who has won the championship so many times, if he goes from the IPL, it will take a little bit of drop. What he has done for his franchise it is fantastic. Wherever CSK plays in India, it is all about the Whistle Podu. That is the power and that is what he brings to the IPL."
“His wicketkeeping is still one of the best, he is still very sharp. It is about how he plays for the team and how they are going to use him. Everybody wants to see Dhoni. So, it doesn't matter where he bats for me, even at number 11, as long as people get a glimpse of Dhoni, still to be a part of CSK and the IPL,” Gayle added.
Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming has explained MS Dhoni's batting arrivals saying that they should not expect the former skipper to walk in to bat around the 9th or 10th over mark in the ongoing IPL 2025 season following their six-run loss against Rajasthan Royals on Sunday. Coming to bat at No. 7, Dhoni scored just 16 runs off 11 balls while chasing 183 at Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati as CSK suffered their second successive loss of the season.