The ‘Project Punjab’ has begun well under Ricky Ponting and Shreyas Iyer as the captain-coach duo in the 2025 edition of the IPL. The Kings lost their first game of the season against the Rajasthan Royals on Saturday and will be keen to bounce back against CSK in Mullanpur on Tuesday.
It has been an interesting start for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and MS Dhoni, who are synonymous with each other for the 16th season running in the 2025 edition of the IPL. The coach Stephen Fleming mentioned that Dhoni can’t be expected to bat for 10 overs and if the other players who have to bat around him to ensure the correct entry point aren’t doing well, the team suffers and their position on the points table may just reflect the same.
Dhoni chose to be retained as an uncapped player for Rs 4 crore but his returns – 16* (11) and 30* (26) – in the last few have been meagre. Dhoni’s output as a keeper and the showrunner behind the stumps continues to remain class apart, however, the questions have started to raise on his presence in CSK’s middle-order, which already doesn’t look the strongest of all. Ricky Ponting, the head coach of the Punjab Kings, admitted that he is still doing the job behind the stumps, probably better than anyone but his future will be decided by how he bats through the season.
‘Well his keeping is not getting any worse, that’s one thing I do know; he’s not missing many standing up to the stumps against the spinners, as good as ever,” Ponting said at Indian Express’ Idea Exchange. Ponting, whose side has gotten off to a smashing start with a couple of wins in the season, said that Dhoni is still dangerous in his own right by the impact player rule may have forced his hand in terms of pushing his batting number down the order.
“Look, you are not going to argue with anything CSK do, they are one of the most successful teams in IPL history. They have had consistent coaching for a long time and generally make the right decisions. With the impact player rule now, Dhoni bats after other serious ball strikers within their own right. I guess he has played a slightly diminished role in the last couple of years, just coming in for the last 10-12 balls and trying to make a big impact. Dhoni is still dangerous in the IPL.”
“It [how long he plays] might just depend on how this season goes. If he can have a real impact with the bat, I think he will keep playing. If his batting output drops, he might start thinking about it. He’s been a terrific player for a long time.” he added.
CSK have lost three matches in a row and seemed to be puzzled with respect to their combination, lack of form for key players and the intent with the bat. After another loss at home to the Delhi Capitals, the Super Kings will take on Ponting’s Punjab Kings, who themselves have a few things to figure out as to their home ground having suffered their first loss against the Rajasthan Royals in the last game in Mullanpur.