Dhoni admits age might be changing his game

MUMBAI: MS Dhoni, the Chennai Super Kings captain, has admitted that age might be changing his game, necessitating a move up the order in T20 cricket.

He has likened batting down the order to the experience of stepping into quicksand.With 455 runs in 16 matches, Dhoni, 36, was one of the driving forces behind CSK’s title win in IPL 2018. Dhoni’s tally was just six runs short of his most productive season ever. He also faced 302 balls - it was only the third time he had faced more than 300 balls in a season.

“I was sure in my mind that I wanted to bat up the order, because with age, me batting down the order was like quicksand,” Dhoni said here at an event.“I wanted to make sure that I wanted to take the responsibility of winning the game, but I was coming so [far] down the order that I was not giving time to myself.

“So, it was more like quicksand: the more I flutter, the deeper I would go. So, I said that I want to make a team where we bat deep, that gives me a chance to bat up the order, and to me up the order doesn’t mean I want to bat at three, four or five; it’s the number of overs [left in the innings].”

Dhoni had a big part to play in that as he turned the clock back with his big hitting, striking at 12.04 an over. He felt being part of a team that batted deep, and a team full of in-form batsmen, gave him the license to bat aggressively.

“I said that I want to bat up, so when I go into bat, I would like to bat aggressive, so that even if I get out, it gives others a chance to reinvent themselves about finishing the game,” he said.