IPL 2021: "It is very disappointing to see him bat like that" - Irfan Pathan on MS Dhoni failing to read the googly

Irfan Pathan has expressed his disappointment about MS Dhoni repeatedly getting bamboozled by the googly in IPL 2021.

Dhoni was castled by Ravi Bishnoi in Thursday (October 7) afternoon's Indian Premier League encounter between the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and the Punjab Kings (PBKS). Although the usually circumspect CSK skipper was slightly more aggressive against the spinners during the match, he inside-edged the googly onto his stumps while going for a drive.

While reviewing CSK's batting performance during a discussion on Star Sports, Irfan Pathan was particularly disheartened by Dhoni's dismissal. He reasoned:

"It is very disappointing to see him bat like that. It is understandable if you get out against the fast bowlers but Dhoni is not able to read the googly. It has happened repeatedly. It is not that it has happened for the first time. He got out to the googly against Varun Chakravarthy as well."

The former India all-rounder highlighted that incoming deliveries have troubled Dhoni quite often. Irfan Pathan explained:

"Before this also, when the ball is coming on the stumps and he is not getting the chance to free his arms, there are problems. Here again, the ball was coming in from outside the off stump, he got an inside edge, this happens when you use the bottom hand a lot."

MS Dhoni has had an indifferent last two seasons of the IPL. Although CSK have done well overall in IPL 2021, their talismanic skipper has scored just 96 runs in the tournament, that too at an underwhelming strike rate of 95.04.

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Irfan Pathan on CSK's other batting woes

Irfan Pathan highlighted the CSK batsmen's problems against short-pitched deliveries [P/C: iplt20.com]

Speaking about CSK's other dismissals, Irfan Pathan pointed out that their batsmen have been found wanting against short-pitched deliveries. He elaborated:

"The way the batsmen are getting out, Ruturaj got out and then Robin Uthappa also got out to the short ball. He came in as a replacement and it is not easy for him as well. Four wickets off the short ball and it is not a team which bowls at a speed of 145 kph."

Ruturaj Gaikwad, who has been in exceptional form, has been dismissed cheaply off a bouncer in CSK's last two matches. The discomfort faced by some of the other CSK batsmen like Suresh Raina, Robin Uthappa and Moeen Ali against short-pitched bowling is also well known. The CSK management will hope to address this issue before the playoffs.