Punjab Kings' Ricky Ponting (left) and CSK's MS Dhoni. (PHOTOS: Sportzpics)Over the past 17 seasons of the Indian Premier League, MS Dhoni has been no stranger to headlines. But perhaps for the first time in his IPL career, a lot of the chatter about the former India captain has been largely critical. With Chennai Super Kings making a poor start to the season, the CSK legend’s batting position and the team’s overall lack of consistency has come under the scanner. Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting – now head coach at Punjab Kings – however doesn’t see a reason to question what a franchise like CSK does in this regard, but felt Dhoni’s IPL future might depend on how he does with the bat this year.
READ: Ricky Ponting’s full Idea Exchange interview
‘Well his keeping is not getting any worse, that’s one thing I do know; he’s not missing many standing up to the stumps against the spinners, as good as ever,” Ponting told The Indian Express during the Idea Exchange recently, in an interview that took place after Dhoni batted at No 9 against RCB.
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting. (Illustration: Suvajit Dey)
Ricky Ponting interview with The Indian Express at Idea Exchange: On why Punjab Kings ‘wanted Shreyas Iyer at any cost’ in IPL auction | On MS Dhoni’s IPL future | On Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s future with Team India | On the Impact Player Rule
“Look, you are not going to argue with anything CSK do, they are one of the most successful teams in IPL history. They have had consistent coaching for a long time and generally make the right decisions. With the impact player rule now, Dhoni bats after other serious ball strikers within their own right. I guess he has played a slightly diminished role in the last couple of years, just coming in for the last 10-12 balls and trying to make a big impact. Dhoni is still dangerous in the IPL.”
When asked on a lighter note if he sees Dhoni ever retiring, Ponting responded: “It might just depend on how this season goes. If he can have a real impact with the bat, I think he will keep playing. If his batting output drops, he might start thinking about it. He’s been a terrific player for a long time.”
Since the RCB match, Dhoni has come into bat slightly higher up, but on both occasions, CSK were already behind the asking rate and he couldn’t make an impact. On Saturday, there were speculations that Dhoni might announce something regarding his future because his parents were in attendance at the Chepauk, but CSK coach Stephen Fleming put an end to those. “He is still going strong and I don’t even ask him these days,” Fleming said after CSK’s defeat to Delhi Capitals.
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