{"id":472292,"date":"2026-03-12T22:49:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T22:49:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/472292\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T22:49:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T22:49:13","slug":"i-dont-see-a-point-cheteshwar-pujara-questions-ms-dhonis-batting-position-at-csk-cricket-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/472292\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I don\u2019t see a point’: Cheteshwar Pujara questions MS Dhoni\u2019s batting position at CSK | Cricket News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"'IChennai Super Kings MS Dhoni (PTI Photo\/Shailendra Bhojak) The batting position of MS Dhoni<\/a> in the Chennai Super Kings<\/a> line up has become a talking point in recent seasons. Fitness concerns have often seen the legendary wicketkeeper batter walk in much lower down the order, sometimes at No. 8 or even No. 9. As a result, Dhoni<\/a> has been left with only a handful of deliveries to influence the game with the bat.In his prime, Dhoni built a reputation as one of the most destructive finishers in world cricket. Even now, the former CSK captain has produced several quick cameos that remind fans of his finishing ability. Those flashes have sparked debate among supporters and experts who feel he should bat higher to maximise his impact.<\/p>\n

Sanju Samson opens up on T20 World Cup journey, and title win<\/p>\n

India Test veteran Cheteshwar Pujara is among those who believe Dhoni should be given a bigger role with the bat. Speaking on JioHotstar, Pujara said he struggles to understand the logic behind sending the former India captain so far down the order.\u201cI don\u2019t see a point in MS Dhoni batting at No. 8 or 9, because he has the potential to turn games around single-handedly, something no other batter in the CSK team can do. If he bats for only five or ten balls, imagine what Mahi bhai can do if he plays 25 or 30 balls,” Pujara said on JioHotstar.Pujara, who was part of the CSK squad that lifted their record-equalling fifth Indian Premier League title in 2021, also spoke warmly about the franchise\u2019s dressing room culture.\u201cI\u2019ve been in the CSK setup. In that environment, players are very comfortable; it\u2019s like a family. When you\u2019re in that setup, there is clarity about what is expected of you as a player,” Pujara said.He added that loyalty has always been a defining feature of the franchise\u2019s philosophy.\u201cLoyalty also comes into the picture because most of CSK\u2019s players, if you look at the history, stay for a long time once they become part of that setup. There is a transition in the team now, so there is a bit more preference for young players,” he added.Meanwhile, CSK chief executive Kasi Viswanathan has expressed confidence that Dhoni will feature regularly for the team throughout the season.\u201cHe (Dhoni) will play all the matches, according to me,” Kasi said.CSK recently secured the services of wicketkeeper batter Sanju Samson from the Rajasthan Royals, a move that has raised fresh questions about what role Dhoni will perform in the playing eleven.Kasi clarified that the final call on Dhoni\u2019s responsibilities will rest with the team\u2019s coaching staff rather than the administrative management.\u201cThat is a cricketing decision which will be taken by the cricketing staff, not by the administrative staff. So they will decide whether he is going to play as a batsman, as a wicketkeeper-batter, or as an impact player,” he said.\"Banner<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chennai Super Kings MS Dhoni (PTI Photo\/Shailendra Bhojak) The batting position of MS Dhoni in the Chennai Super…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":472293,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[28021,45188,1721,168689,39822,12765,168688,6970,6975,91202,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-472292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket","tag-chennai-super-kings","tag-cheteshwar-pujara","tag-cricket","tag-csk-ipl-2026","tag-dhoni","tag-ms-dhoni","tag-ms-dhoni-batting-position","tag-rajasthan-royals","tag-sanju-samson","tag-sanju-samson-csk","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=472292"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472292\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/472293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=472292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=472292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=472292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}