‘He is 7-8 yrs older than when he did it with ease’: Shastri on Dhoni captaining | Cricket

With a 13-run defeat to Royal Challengers Bangalore, Chennai Super Kings are all but eliminated from the race to the IPL 2022 playoffs. CSK needed to win all their remaining games, but a seventh defeat in 10 matches has kind of ended their chances of making it to the top four. The string of losses in the first half under Ravindra Jadeja forced CSK to play catch up and even though MS Dhoni was reinstated as captain and won his first game back in charge against SRH, CSK were left with a mountain to climb. (Also Read: MS Dhoni minces no words after CSK’s 13-run loss to RCB, blames batters for poor show)

There is always a chance mathematically, but whether Dhoni can still do the unthinkable remains to be seen. However, in either case, former India coach Ravi Shastri feels that MSD will leave no stone unturned in leading the side in the remainder of the IPL with utmost confidence. Shastri believes that although Dhoni may find it slightly tougher to manage his troops given the circumstances the team is in, MSD will always motivate his team in the way only he knows.

“His mindset will be to win every game, but don’t forget he is 7-8 years older than when he could do it at ease. Having said that, don’t write them off. There is pressure of having lost the first few games under Jadeja. Their backs are against the wall, they are cornered tigers. They can win everything, and the message will be to just go and express yourself. Play freely, play fearless cricket. If we lost, we are out of this competition, but each game we win, our confidence will only go up,” Shastri said on Star Sports.

Former England spinner Graeme Swann echoes Shastri’s thoughts and says that with Dhoni back in charge, CSK may still believe, irrespective of what the points-table may suggest.

“MS is a great captain and motivator. You only have to see it by the number of yellow people present on the ground. Dhoni’s impact is such that even though the situation seems hopeless, his very nature, now that he has got the captaincy, people are looking up him again. They could well be hitting that top for,” Swann pointed out.