IPL 2023: Virender Sehwag criticizes MS Dhoni's captaincy in CSK defeat to GT

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Former Indian batter Virender Sehwag has criticized Mahendra Singh Dhoni's captaincy in Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) 5-wicket loss to Gujarat Titans (GT) in the IPL 2023 opener on Friday (March 31).

MS Dhoni's CSK failed to defend 178 in match 1 of IPL 2023 against Hardik Pandya's GT at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad after Rashid Khan and Rahul Tewatia helped the home side to victory in the final over.

The veteran CSK captain is known to use his slower bowlers well and tries to squeeze in an over from his sixth bowling option if one of the main bowlers is having an off day.

But that was not the case on Friday (March 31) despite Dhoni having Moeen Ali at his disposal. And Sehwag felt using more than five bowling options in the match would have not forced Dhoni to go to Tushar Deshpande for the final over.

Deshpande, who was used as the Impact Player by CSK to replace Ambati Rayudu, had a pretty forgetful outing as he conceded 51 runs in 3.2 overs. Speaking to Cricbuzz, Sehwag explained how Dhoni could have hid Deshpande's shabby day at the office.

"Had Dhoni used an over from Moeen Ali somewhere in the middle, he may not have needed to go to Deshpande, who was highly expensive. You don't see Dhoni making such mistakes often, but that's where you could use the risk-and-reward approach of using an off-spinner to right-handers," explained Sehwag.

Meanwhile, Indian cricketer Manoj Tiwary, who was also present in the discussion, said he was quite puzzled by CSK's decision to give Deshpande the new ball when they had another option that did well.

"I was surprised when they gave the impact substitute Tushar Deshpande the new ball. In domestic cricket, he often bowls in the latter phases of the game. I thought maybe they could have given Rajvardhan Hangargekar the new ball," Tiwari said.

CSK and Dhoni will hope to get their decisions right when they return home for their first match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai since 2019 on Monday (April 3) against Lucknow Super Giants.