CSK coach Stephen Fleming explains star’s batting order arrivals

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) coach Stephen Fleming has explained to the team’s faithful that they should not expect former captain and all-time team talisman Mahendra Singh Dhoni to walk in to bat around the 9th or 10th over mark in the Indian Premier League 2025. Dhoni managed to score just 16 runs off 11 balls in the Chennai team’s chase of 183 at Guwahati against the Rajasthan Royals. CSK fell short six runs versus RR. Dhoni did bat up the order in the Rajasthan Royals compared the game against Royal Challangers Bengaluru where he had come in at No 9.
After the defeat to Rajasthan Royals, CSK coach Stephen Fleming explained the team management’s decision-making process behind Dhoni coming in later than most pundits and fans were expecting him to.
“Yeah, it’s a time thing. MS judges it. His body is… his knees aren’t what they used to be. And he’s moving okay, but there’s still an attrition aspect to it. He can’t bat ten overs running full stick. So he will gauge on the day what he can give us. If the game’s in the balance like today, he will go a little bit earlier, and he backs other players when other opportunities are up. So he’s balancing that,” Fleming said at the post-game press conference.
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Dhoni went in against the Royals with CSK needing 54 off 25 balls. Against RCB, even though CSK lost their fifth and sixth wickets in a single over, Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin were sent to bat ahead of Dhoni. That decision had gotten some stick with cricketer-turned-analyst Aakash Chopra saying, “Ashwin ahead of Dhoni vs RCB didn’t make sense.”

Fleming talked up Dhoni’s value to the team.
“I said it last year [as well], he’s too valuable to us – leadership and wicket-keeping – to throw him in nine-ten overs. He has actually never done that. So, look, from around 13-14 overs, he’s looking to go depending on who’s in.”