IPL 2020: CSK are under pressure, even die-hard fans have gone quiet, opines Sanjay Manjrekar
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Former India cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar is of the view that Chennai Super Kings has some clinical issues that needs to be sorted out if the three-time IPL winners want to get back to winning ways.
Former India cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar is of the view that Chennai Super Kings has some clinical issues that needs to be sorted out if the three-time IPL winners want to get back to winning ways.
CSK head into the match against SRH being last on the points table following two back-to-back defeats in three matches this season. Manjrekar opined that CSK are under pressure this time and even the die-hard fans seem a bit concerned about their fate in the tournament.
"Chennai Super Kings as a team has rarely been under pressure in the league stage. This time they are. Even their die-hard fans have gone quiet on social media, they seem a little concerned. They look towards MS Dhoni for salvation.
"Chennai's approach has been very unique in the tournament, it's a team that is the opposite of Mumbai, who have virtually every member in their team capable of winning a T20 game on their own. Chennai may not compare with Mumbai as well, in this regard, but as a unit, it is a match-winning one. And for this to happen they need Dhoni at the helm," Manjrekar wrote in his column for Times of India.
Manjrekar also pointed fingers on how Dhoni needs to throw some of the flaws out of the window in their match against SRH on Friday.
"Any other captain would not be able to extract what Dhoni does from this team and when Chennai eventually have to look at life beyond Dhoni we may see a completely different structure of the team, unless Dhoni still remains the cricket nerve centre of the franchise, then maybe not.
“But this would be interesting to see this in the coming years. For now, Dhoni has some small, clinical cricketing issues to sort out - on a good pitch he must have an additional bowling option, most teams are now starting to do that. At Chennai they could afford to rely on Jadeja to bowl his 4, in UAE for now at least, it's an unreliable tactic," Manjrekar added.