Former cricketers blast MS Dhoni for his decisions in Chennai's loss against Gujarat

It was not an expected start for the four-time champions Chennai, under MS Dhoni, in the tournament opener against the defending champions, Gujarat. Both teams played this match at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday. Later on, the skipper of yellow outfits, MS Dhoni fell on the receiving end of criticism from a few former cricket experts for his decision of coming down the order to bat.

Dhoni sent Shivam Dube on number six to bat instead of star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and himself as well. This decision from the 41-year-old didn’t go down well with the former greats like Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, and Eoin Morgan while they were in their commentary stint with the official broadcasters.

"CSK got their middle-order wrong, it cost them. Dhoni should have come in (in place of Dube),"  said Graeme Swann during commentary on Jio Cinema.

Later on, Dhoni himself talked about the batting of Chennai in the first innings, he acknowledged that the visitors scored 10-20 runs less while posting a target for Gujarat.

We could have done a bit more with the batsman ship - MS Dhoni

"We all knew there would be dew. We could have done a bit more with the batsman ship. Ruturaj (Gaikwad) was brilliant, he times the ball well and he's a pleasure to watch. The way he picks his options, is pleasing to watch. I think it's important for youngsters to step in. I think Raj (Hangargekar) has pace and he will get better with time. Think the bowlers will get better, a no-ball is something that's in your control, so you need to work on that. I felt two left armers would be a better option so I went ahead with them. Shivam was an option, but I felt comfortable with the bowlers overall," said Dhoni during the post-match presentation after a defeat of five wickets against Hardik Pandya’s men.