IPL 2022: "Very important to understand what role MS Dhoni sees himself in this season"- Sunil Gavaskar

Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar believes the chances of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL 2022 season will depend a lot on their talismanic skipper MS Dhoni. The 40-year-old led CSK to the title last season but didn't contribute much with the bat.

Dhoni drastically changed his role in the CSK team over the past two seasons, as he was happy to demote himself down the order and let other players like Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran make an impact with the bat.

He has scored just 314 runs in a combined 30 games over the past two seasons.

Speaking to Sports Tak, Sunil Gavaskar highlighted the importance of MS Dhoni promoting himself higher up the order.

"It is very important to understand what role MS Dhoni sees himself in this season. Whether he will be that senior player who bats at No.7 or No.8 or whether he will bat higher up the order and turn games."

The 72-year-old believes Dhoni still has the ability to take the game away from the opposition with his willow.

"Last season we saw on a few occasions when Dhoni promoted himself up the order and changed the course of the game with his boundaries and sixes. This was the running charge for CSK that won them the title so it will be crucial to see what role Dhoni has this time."

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Sunil Gavaskar reckons new captain could bring new luck for RCB

According to Sunil Gavaskar, the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have always been blessed with some star-studded names in their ranks. However, luck has played a role in them not crossing the final hurdle till date.

Nevertheless, with the appointment of new skipper in Faf du Plessis, Sunil Gavaskar believes RCB's fortunes could take a turn for the good. He stated:

"From the first season itself, the Royal Challengers Bangalore have had a good team. However, something or the other happens or due to luck, they couldn't quite win the trophy. But a new captain can bring fresh luck."

With the likes of Du Plessis, Virat Kohli and Glenn Maxwell in their ranks, Sunil Gavaskar reckons RCB will post some huge totals this IPL. However, the 72-year-old is concerned about their bowling.

"They have a new captain in Du Plessis and then they have Kohli and Maxwell, who the way he batted last season, it feels like RCB will score a lot of runs this time. However, do they have the bowling to restrict the opposition, a lot would depend on that whether RCB will win the title or not."

CSK will hope to win a record-equalling fifth IPL title in what could be Dhoni's last season as a player. RCB, on the other hand, will be keen to usher in a new era of massive success with their maiden IPL title.