Mahendra Singh Dhoni, probably one of the biggest names in world cricket, and surely one of the greatest Indian cricketers, has etched his name in many record books. The 43-year-old legendary wicket-keeper batsman has been a constant in the Indian Premier League ever since the inaugural season of 2008. He has played for the Chennai Super Kings since IPL 2008, to date. In the middle, he did play for the Rising Pune Supergiant for two seasons, but that was because of CSK's ban. Topping the charts as a wicket-keeper, MS Dhoni ranks not any behind as a batsman in the cash-rich Indian Premier League. IPL 2025: Shane Watson Feels MS Dhoni Should Have Batted Ahead of Ravichandran Ashwin in Chennai Super Kings슬롯사이트� 50-Run Loss Against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

Regarded as one of the best finishers in white-ball cricket, the No. 7 or as his fans call him the "Thala", MS Dhoni has often been urged by the fans to bat up the order. Mainly because millions want to see more of his batting in the last few years of his career, but mostly because he has been batting too late in recent years, late enough for the match's fate to already be decided. Scroll below as we dig deep into why MS Dhoni should be batting higher up the order in IPL 2025. IPL 2025: MS Dhoni Says He Would Feel 슬롯사이트Useless슬롯사이트� on Cricket Field Without Wicketkeeping Duties (Watch Video).

Three Reasons Why MS Dhoni Should Bat Up the Order

  • More Runs, Higher Average: If stats are to be believed. MS Dhoni has 1995 runs batting at no. 5 and 1559 runs batting at no. 4 in the IPL. The no. 5 seems to be his ideal spot in the shorter format, with an average of 50.12. Batting lower might bring him a higher strike rate, but strike rates would be of no use if there are no adequate runs.

  • Reduces Pressure of Required Run Rate, Achieving Par Score: Dhoni has been observed to bat only in the last two to four overs when the RRR is too high to achieve. As a result, there are fewer runs, with tailenders batting above him, wasting balls and wickets. With age only getting higher, he should batt early, play an anchor-like role when needed, set well at the crease, and then look to attack, otherwise, CSK's chances of scoring big will lower.

  • Experience Required After Collapse of Top Order: With Chennai Super Kings having batters with lower experience batting ahead of them, the pressure mounts. Also, it makes no sense to keep the sixth-highest all-time run-getter in the IPL to bat lower and have nothing to anchor on in the death overs.

MS Dhoni has been urged to bat higher the order for almost half a decade now, especially from the time when his India national cricket team days were nearing an end. He has scored numerous half-centuries batting higher on the order, and yes age is adding on, so batting for long would be tough, but batting late is simply playing with a free wicket, so he be chosing to bat up the order in IPL 2025.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 30, 2025 05:33 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).