The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 will be the 18th season of the richest cricket league in the world. One thing that has remained constant since its inception is the madness among fans for MS Dhoni.
The 43-year-old, who will be turning out for the 18th season of the league, is still one of the most fearsome batters. However, on several occasions, the batter himself has found it hard to get going. Situations could turn difficult for MSD, who believes in buying his time and finishing the game.
Here are the top three bowlers who have and will continue to trouble or, one can say, humiliate the legendary Chennai Super Kings (CSK) player by not letting him score freely.
Varun Chakravarthy has been one of the finest bowlers to have played in the league. In a short span of just five seasons, he has picked up 83 wickets in 71 matches. Moreover, it is the last two seasons that have made the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) bowler a force to be reckoned with.
When it comes to bowling against Dhoni, he is an altogether different proposition. The 33-year-old has bowled 16 deliveries at the Indian legend and gone for just 11 runs, getting him out thrice in the process. His average of 3.7 is the best amongst all the bowlers to have bowled at least six balls against Dhoni in the IPL.
Another KKR spinner, Sunil Narine has also got the better of Dhoni more often than not. Despite bowling 74 balls to him, the West Indian has had so much control over the former CSK captain that Dhoni has managed to score only 39 runs at a strike rate of 52.7, the lowest by Dhoni against all bowlers whom he has faced at least 18 balls.
Narine, one of the best bowlers in the T20 format and among the top-five wicket-takers in IPL history, will have his eyes on the prized scalp of Dhoni once again.
From the outset, it doesn’t seem like Harshal Patel would be the kind of guy who would trouble Dhoni a lot. He is neither a tight-bowling spinner nor a bouncer-heavy pacer. Then why has he kept Dhoni so quiet? Well, the answer lies in variation.
One of the most lethal slow-ball deliverers and pace-change experts going around in the IPL, Patel has gone for just 25 runs in 33 deliveries he has bowled to the great finisher and got him out thrice.