MS Dhoni did not have a great season with the bat in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. He led the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their last nine matches of the season after regular captain Ruturaj Gaikwad was ruled out due to an injury. However, the Men in Yellow lost six games under the wicketkeeper-batter’s leadership.
Ahead of CSK’s last game of the season against Gujarat Titans (GT) on Sunday, May 25, Aakash Chopra highlighted Dhoni’s shortcomings, saying that the former India captain has scored most of his runs in losing causes in the last couple of seasons of the IPL. The cricketer-turned-commentator also said that Dhoni has a high dot-ball percentage against spin.
“Over the last couple of seasons, he has consistently batted at position 7 or lower in every single innings. If you dig a little deeper, you’ll find that he has batted at positions 8 or 9 about 45% of the time during this period. While he has hit quite a few sixes, most of those runs have come when the matches were already out of reach,” Chopra said on Star Sports.
“His contributions in winning causes haven’t been particularly impressive. One key concern is his dot-ball percentage against spin — it’s at 45%, which is among the highest and something fans should take seriously,” he added.
Dhoni, who is considered one of the safest wicketkeepers of all time, has had a few blips behind the stumps this season. Chopra pointed out that the 43-year-old has taken five and dropped four catches in IPL 2025.
“As a wicketkeeper, he’s shown flashes of brilliance, but the numbers tell a slightly different story. He’s conceded the most runs among keepers this season. While he has taken 5 catches, he has also dropped 4 — a stat that’s quite surprising and not something we’re used to seeing from him,” he added.
CSK won their last game of the season comprehensively by 83 runs at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The five-time champions posted 230/5 in their 20 overs with Devon Conway and Dewald Brevis scoring blistering half-centuries. However, much to the chagrin of the fans, Dhoni wasn’t needed with the bat. In the second innings, the Shubman Gill-led side was bowled out for 147 as Noor Ahmad starred with a three-for.
