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Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni is likely to be banned for the all-important final match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 for unnecessarily stalling the Qualifier 1 match against Gujarat Titans (GT) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Tuesday.
The veteran wicket-keeper batsman reportedly ‘argued’ with the umpires during the Qualifier 1 match against Gujarat Titans (GT) to waste time intentionally.
The incident could now backfire for the ‘Captain Cool’ as he could be penalised. Dhoni has already been fined earlier in the ongoing edition of the cash-rich league for maintaining a slow over rate.
It will now be interesting to see if Dhoni is fined or banned in the summit clash. A formal decision in this regard would be taken by the umpires soon. Now, it would be interesting to see what kind of decision is being taken, said an expert.
There was a nine-minute delay in proceedings during IPL 2023 Qualifier 1. The incident took place when Dhoni started arguing with the umpires as CSK speedster Matheesha Pathirana was not allowed to bowl his second over. The umpires did not allow the pacer to operate as he did not complete the stipulated time on the field after taking a break to be eligible for bowling again. Dhoni allegedly argued with the umpires to waste time intentionally to cover up Pathirana’s time.
Meanwhile, Dhoni has drawn flak for holding the game unnecessarily. Dhoni’s deliberate attempt to kill time has taken some sheen out of CSK’s victory. Former New Zealand pacer Simon Doul slammed the CSK captain for stalling the game unnecessarily.
“That 5-minute argument with the umpires, it was unnecessary. All Dhoni did was stall and stall the game instead of letting another bowler bowl. He might come to regret that at the end of the match,” said Doul during his commentary.
Even, legendry Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar, who had taken autograph of Dhoni a few days back, fumed with Dhoni’s deliberate delay.
“You accept the umpire’s decision. Even if the umpire gets it wrong sometimes in high pressure situations,” Gavaskar said on-air chiding Dhoni.
