"MS Dhoni should open the batting or bat at No. 3 for CSK" - Parthiv Patel makes bold statement ahead of CSK vs RCB in IPL 2022

Former Indian cricketer Parthiv Patel feels former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni is underutilized as a batter at No. 7. The 40-year-old has already scored a half-century for Chennai in their opening game and has looked like one of the in-form batters on his IPL team.

Parthiv Patel recalled some of Dhoni's knocks for India where he rescued the team from a precarious situation on difficult batting tracks. MS Dhoni scored a fine hundred against Pakistan in Chennai in 2012 and a brilliant 65 against Sri Lanka in Dharamsala, both in testing batting conditions.

Speaking to Cricbuzz, Parthiv Patel explained why Dhoni should be promoted to the top order. He said:

"My take is different. Dhoni should open the batting or bat at No.3. If he takes his time initially and bats till the 15th-16th over, he can score runs. He has already scored a fifty in the tournament."

Patel added:

"If you look at his record, whenever India has lost wickets on seaming tracks, MS Dhoni has scored runs, be it his century against Pakistan in Chennai or 80-odd (65) against Sri Lanka in Dharamsala. He has his own unique technique."

Patel also spoke about the changes CSK need to make in the bowling department. He feels they can try India's U19 sensation Rajvardhan Hangargekar or even someone like KM Asif who has been with the team for almost five seasons. He added:

"CSK need young energy, so they can give a chance to Rajvardhan Hangargekar, who has done well in the U19 World Cup. They can even try KM Asif, who has been with the team for a while."

Check out who is at the top of the IPL points table 2022 here.

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RP Singh recalls MS Dhoni's 183* against Sri Lanka

Former Indian pacer RP Singh also opined that CSK need to experiment by sending MS Dhoni up the order. He shed light on Dhoni's career-best ODI score of 183* against Sri Lanka, where he tormented the opposition bowlers batting at No. 3. RP Singh stated:

"I agree with Parthiv, because MS Dhoni's big scores have come when he has batted in the top order. I was a part of the game where he had scored 183 against Sri Lanka in Jaipur."

While CSK need to make changes in the bowling department, RP Singh explained why the Men in Yellow do not like to tinker much with their line-up. He added:

"Players like KM Asif, Monu Singh, Karn Sharma have been a part of CSK for a long time but didn't get many opportunities. This is because CSK believe in keeping a set pattern. So these players get chances only when the team does extremely poor or extremely well. They don't make many changes."

Dhoni has played some heroic knocks against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) over the past few seasons. It will be interesting to see whether CSK give the 40-year-old the license to go out and express himself on Tuesday (April 12) when the two teams meet.