MS Dhoni's batting position has been at the centre of discussion after Chennai Super Kings' poor start to the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) season following two defeats and one victory in their first three games. The Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side defeated Mumbai Indians (MI) by four wickets at the MA Chidambram Stadium in the tournament opener before suffering defeat to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) by 50 runs at home and a six-run loss to Rajasthan Royals (RR) at Guwahati.
Dhoni walked out to bat at number eight against MI with eight balls remaining in the match and CSK just four runs away from victory. However, he demoted himself to number nine against RCB and walked out to bat with the team 97 runs away from a win and just 28 balls remaining. While Dhoni made a 16-ball 30, the Men in Yellow were far away from a win.
In the clash against RR, Dhoni came to bat at number seven with 25 balls to spare, and CSK was within reach of a win with a 54-run victory. While the five-time IPL-winning captain gave the Men in Yellow hope of a victory, he was dismissed by Sandeep Sharma in the 20th over and could not complete a vintage finish.

Why Is MS Dhoni Batting So Low In IPL 2025?

In both the match against RCB and RR, Dhoni showed he still can hit big shots, which has raised questions about why he does not bat higher in the order to ease things for the team. CSK head coach Stephen Fleming has broken his silence on the issue and claimed that Dhoni can't bat 10 overs anymore and that his body and knees do not allow it.
"Yeah, it's a time thing. MS judges it. His body is; his knees aren't what they used to be. And he's moving okay, but there's still an attrition aspect to it. He can't bat 10 overs running full stick. So he will gauge on the day what he can give us. If the game's in the balance like today, he will go a little bit earlier, and he backs other players when other opportunities are up. So he's balancing that," said Fleming in a post-match press conference.
"I said it last year [as well]; he's too valuable to us - leadership and wicket-keeping - to throw him in nine, ten overs. He has never done that. So, look, from around 13-14 overs, he's looking to go depending on who's in," Fleming added.
At the age of 43, Dhoni is the third oldest player to play the IPL in history and the oldest wicket-keeper batter. The ex-Indian captain retired from international cricket in 2020 and last played for the national team in 2019.