IPL 2023 Auction: "Dhoni's best cricket is behind him" - Harbhajan Singh says CSK have a lot of work to do

Harbhajan Singh has claimed that MS Dhoni is past his prime and that the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have a lot of work to do at the IPL 2023 auction.

CSK finished ninth in IPL 2022 with eight points, just above the bottom-placed Mumbai Indians (MI) on net run rate. They also reappointed Dhoni as their skipper midway through the tournament, having seen an indifferent start to their title defense under Ravindra Jadeja, but the move did not yield the desired results.

During a discussion on the Star Sports show 'Game Plan', Harbhajan was asked about his views on the road ahead for the Chennai-based franchise. He responded:

"They have a lot of work to do. Dhoni's best cricket is behind him as well. Yes, he is the best captain today also. If you make him stand as a captain, you will not get that value from any other captain."

The former CSK player also opined that the franchise would have to find a leader to replace Dhoni going forward.

"You will have to find an option for him as well, who can come along with Dhoni who can take the team forward," Harbhajan said. "There were some issues with Ravindra Jadeja, we don't know what happened there."

Reports suggested that Jadeja had fallen out with the management after he was unceremoniously removed as the skipper. However, Dhoni seems to have conveyed to the think tank that they need to retain the spin-bowling all-rounder.

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"They don't have batting at the top and the finisher's spot is also looking empty" - Harbhajan Singh on CSK's issues

Robin Uthappa announced his retirement post IPL 2022. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Harbhajan went on to state that he expects Jadeja to continue with CSK, before highlighting their batting issues.

"Ravindra Jadeja will definitely come back," he said. "But we saw that they don't have batting at the top and the finisher's spot, the role which Bravo and Dhoni used to perform, is also looking empty."

The former Indian spinner reckons CSK might target either Sam Curran or Cameron Green for the seam-bowling all-rounder's position.

"They will have to probably shop and see which player is available, whether Sam Curran is available, or who can replace Bravo, whether Green can be seeing playing here," he added. "I believe they need batters and along with that an all-rounder as well."

Dwayne Bravo picked up 16 wickets in the 10 matches he played for the Chennai Super Kings in this year's IPL. However, the veteran all-rounder is injury-prone, and the franchise would be hoping to get a long-term replacement for him.