“To Be Honest…”: Sanjay Manjrekar Tired of Repeated MS Dhoni Debate as CSK Gets Virtually Knocked Out Of Playoffs

Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has come out all guns blazing and said that he is exhausted circling the same topic on MS Dhoni and his IPL future. According to Manjrekar, the franchise has completely manhandled the situation with Dhoni and his IPL future. In the ongoing season of IPL, Dhoni has not played a single game for his franchise due to a calf injury, which has sidelined him for most of the season.

This injury, in turn, has fueled speculation about whether he will announce his IPL retirement this year. Although Dhoni trained with the team on multiple occasions, he did not take part in any matches, and Manjrekar stated that he has lost all interest in the constant chatter surrounding the cricketer.

"To be very honest, I've exhausted myself so much talking about another icon. I've got nothing left to say about Dhoni. And if you want a very short and brutally honest answer, it doesn't matter. Whether he plays, whether he doesn't play, and all that, yeah, CSK have handled that situation very differently, and something that I've lost interest in," he said, as quoted by the Sportstar.

He further said that what MS Dhoni had done for India was something he would always cherish. Manjarekar added that Dhoni remained one of his favourite captains and an all-time great, and expressed admiration for his contributions. However, he noted that the current version of Dhoni was a shadow of his former self and felt that Chennai Super Kings had not managed the "Dhoni phenomenon" well, which had negatively impacted the team's overall performance.

He further remarked that whether Dhoni played one final game or not would be for fans to appreciate, but personally, he preferred to remember the Dhoni he witnessed at both the international level and with CSK. He also believed that if a prime Dhoni were leading the current CSK side, the team would have made it to the playoffs.

CSK Learned A 'Harsh Lesson' On Dhoni Question: Manjarekar

The former cricketer, now a commentator, observed that the Chennai Super Kings had taken a tough lesson from how they handled the MS Dhoni situation. He suggested that the franchise should move beyond emotional decision-making when it comes to selecting players and instead focus on present realities such as performance levels, team position, and standings.

He explained that trying to accommodate Dhoni in the playing XI raises questions about his overall contribution, noting that it has become increasingly challenging with each passing season due to age and limited match practice outside the IPL. He added that Dhoni is likely to continue playing a similar role as in recent years, batting lower down the order and appearing late in the innings, possibly only in the final over. In his view, this approach is driven more by Dhoni's legendary stature than by what would necessarily be the most effective strategy for winning matches.