Former Australia spinner Brad Hogg said that the 2021 IPL will be the last season for MS Dhoni and he will retire soon after this as well. The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain has looked uncomfortable at the crease over the last two IPL editions and has also failed to contribute significantly with the bat as well.
Since the IPL mega-auction coming up, CSK and MS Dhoni will have to think about their options as well as the cost of retaining a player and the team’s future. While there is no doubt about his captaincy skill, his batting has deteriorated with time a swell. And, Hogg said that MS Dhoni had lost his sharpness with age.
While speaking on his YouTube channel, Brad Hogg said: “I think he’s going to retire at the end of the year from IPL cricket. The way he got out to Chakravarthy the other day with the wrong un’, there was a huge gap between bat and pad. I think the reflexes of the 40-year-old are just starting to wane. His keeping has been sensational. It’s good for Indian cricket and CSK that he is still going because of his leadership out in the middle. He’s keeping things calm and helped Jadeja grow as a cricketer and developing youngsters as well. Just the way that he walked off, that body language, there was a glint in the eye that said I think I’ve just lost that sharpness.”
MS Dhoni was dismissed for 1 run after surprisingly came to bat ahead of Ravindra Jadeja in the dying stages of a tough run chase against KKR. However, it was Jadeja who won the match for them. And, Hogg believes that with MS Dhoni mentoring the Indian team at the upcoming T20 World Cup, he can be added to the management as well.
“At the age of 40 and with the role that he’s got with the Indian Cricket Team going into that T20 World Cup, I think he’ll move into a management role or even the head coach of CSK.”Probably the management role and sit alongside Stephen Fleming and help out develop the youngsters but also create a good strategy gor the new wave of CSK cricketers moving forward because you need someone of that quality around that knows Indian conditions, knows the Indian people and has a good rapport with the players,” Brad Hogg concluded.
