"MS Dhoni the batsman will need to take more responsibility" - Bishop, Manjrekar

Former West Indies pacer Ian Bishop feels the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batting needs a bit of uplifting from their skipper MS Dhoni. The 40-year-old had demoted himself down the order in the first half and had sent the likes of Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran ahead of him to get some quick runs.

However, with the likes of Faf du Plessis and Dwayne Bravo having been injured in the Caribbean Premier League, MS Dhoni might need to promote himself up the order.

Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, here's what Ian Bishop had to say:

"It's just the fast bowling that can be bolstered. I don't know where they can go with the batting. Jadeja has been in good form. Moeen Ali brilliant as well and Gaikwad is outstanding. So Dhoni will need to take more responsibility if these guys cannot play."

Sanjay Manjrekar felt that CSK might not miss the services of Dwayne Bravo, but Du Plessis has been an important cog in their wheel. He too agreed that MS Dhoni might need to step up as a batsman in absence of some of their key players.

"Bravo they will not miss as much. Sam Curran needs to be available quickly. Faf du Plessis is not one of those in-your-face IPL batting stars but he has been invaluable for CSK. Batting is a concern and I agree with Bish, MS Dhoni the batter will have to take more of a responsibility," Sanjay Manjrekar asserted.

Got to admire MS Dhoni for sending Jadeja, Curran ahead of him: Sanjay Manjrekar on CSK batting

The IPL 2020 season for was an underwhelming one for CSK and one of the major reasons for that was the performance of the senior players. But Manjrekar was impressed with the way MS Dhoni demoted himself to allow others to score quick runs in the first half of IPL 2021.

"Really the story of the last half of the IPL was CSK coming to terms with the aging reality. Working accordingly they started leaving out the old players and began to use them smartly. Dhoni himself taking that call and you got to admire that man that on odd occasions he took that call of sending Jadeja and Curran ahead of him when they needed quick runs," Manjrekar concluded.

IPL 2021 phase two will begin with an encounter between CSK and defending champions Mumbai Indians tonight.