Shane Watson Echoes Virender Sehwag's Criticism On MS Dhoni: 'Should Have Batted Ahead Of Ashwin'

Royal Challengers Bengaluru broke the Chennai Super Kings jinx with a 50-run defeat at the Chepauk Stadium. This was CSK's first home defeat to RCB after a prolonged 17 seasons in the IPL .

The focus was on MS Dhoni , who continued to defy his age and has been an integral part of the CSK setup since the inception of the IPL. But with CSK's defeat to RCB, questions have been hovering around Dhoni's decision. CSK lost wickets at regular intervals and were staring at a definite loss. However, MS Dhoni arrived at the crease at number nine, and it was Ravichandran Ashwin who appeared before him.

Shane Watson Criticised MS Dhoni's Decision Against RCB

The call attracted severe criticism, and now Shane Watson has also joined the queue, questioning Dhoni's decision to come late during CSK's batting.

Also Read: 'Overrated Cricketer': Cricket Fans React To Virender Sehwag's Staunch Criticism Of MS Dhoni After RCB vs CSK IPL 2025 Clash

In an interaction with Star Sports, he said, "this is exactly what CSK fans come to see -- 30 off 16 deliveries from Dhoni. I would have absolutely loved to see him come up the order. In my opinion, he should have batted ahead of Ashwin.

"Given the game situation, Dhoni could have played like this for another 15 balls. Over the last couple of years, he has consistently shown that he's still batting beautifully. I truly believe he should be promoted up the order so we can see the full extent of his skills."

Also Read: Ex-AUS Cricketer Slams CSK Following Defeat To RCB In IPL 2025, Questions Chennai's Decision To Let Rahul Tripathi Open

MS Dhoni Played Down Retirement Talks 

Dhoni scored a quickfire 30 of 16 balls, including three fours and two sixes, but he left it too late. Last season, too, Dhoni had the same approach as he was seen batting down the order most of the time. CSK failed to reach the playoffs last season, and speculations were pretty rife of his potential retirement. But he stood tall and was eventually retained by the franchise as an uncapped player.