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Picture Credit: IPL/Twitter

MS Dhoni, for sure, played one of his slowest IPL knocks in the match against Delhi Capitals on Monday. Coming in to bat when his team was 62/4, the CSK skipper stitched 70 runs for the fifth wicket with Ambati Rayudu. However, the process saw Dhoni playing too cautiously and later even finding it hard to hit the ball properly before getting dismissed on 18 off 27 balls.

The fact that Dhoni played 27 balls and didn't manage to hit a single boundary could be enough to describe his misery on the pitch on Monday. The netizens too were unimpressed with Dhoni batting and his approach. Meanwhile, former KKR player Rajat Bhatia felt that MS Dhoni has lost his confidence.

He is unable to hit the ball like he used to: Rajat Bhatia

In SportsTiger's Mid-Wicket Live show, Rajat said that either MS Dhoni needs to play with full freedom or he should give other batters the opportunity to come ahead of him.

"You cannot wait till last overs. You have batters after you so you have to play with full freedom. It seems his confidence has gone away. He is unable to hit the ball like he used to," said Bhatia.

Meanwhile, Dhoni's partner Ambati Rayudu went on to score a valuable 55* off 43 to help CSK post a total of 136/5 in 20 overs. "I feel the Chennai's batting didn't click today. Though the ball doesn't come that nicely on bat when it is old, the pitch played well today. Ambati Rayudu didn't seem to struggle," added Bhatia

Stating that Dhoni should bat down the order, the former KKR player stated, "It is better than this that you give other batters to go before you. This will give you a license to play with freedom. People say that Dhoni should be promoted up the order, but doing so will make the game slow. If Chennai are looking for the upcoming matches, Dhoni should bat down the order."

"People will definitely want Dhoni to see....but I feel after this IPL season, Dhoni should think (about his future). A player can only play till a stage. So, either Dhoni plays other T20 leagues as well to continue cricket or if he continues to play cricket this way, his performance will affect the team," he added.