Former India as well as CSK player Ambati Rayudu believes MS Dhoni’s swashbuckling cameo in the Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) IPL 2024 loss to the Delhi Capitals (DC) has virtually ended everyone’s hopes of seeing him bat up the order. However, Delhi Capitals set CSK a 192-run target in Visakhapatnam in the second game on Sunday, March 31. Dhoni played a key knock, hitting an unbeaten 37 off just 16 deliveries in the run chase but CSK lost the game by 20 runs as well.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Rayudu said, “I feel that after this knock, he will definitely not come because he has now got the confidence that he can win matches for CSK by going down the order. This is actually a setback to our hopes of seeing Dhoni bhai bat up the order.”

However, MS Dhoni batted at No. 8 against the Capitals. He came to bat only in the 17th over and hit four fours and three sixes during his short stay in the middle as well. CSK required 72 runs off 23 balls when Dhoni joined Ravindra Jadeja in the middle. Although MS Dhoni’s explosive knock couldn’t help the team win, Dhoni’s form could be a key factor for sure.

“I feel Mahi bhai knew that the match had probably gone out of grasp. So he knew he could get crucial batting practice in the middle in a match because he knows that such a situation can come in the playoffs or a crucial qualifying match. So he was preparing himself for that. He was testing himself that whether he can still hit yorker-length balls against good bowlers out of the park or not. The happiness you could see on his face after playing that innings, I feel he is very confident within himself,” Rayudu said.”Every team should be scared now because this guy will come in the last five overs and we will now again get to see the batting we used to see from MS Dhoni in 2005,” Ambati Rayudu concluded.