New Delhi, May 18 (Agencies) : Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar on Wednesday questioned MS Dhoni's treatment of Rising Pune Supergiants all-rounder Irfan Pathan.

According to a report on NDTV, the former India captain felt Dhoni should have used Pathan more constructively after injuries to key players like Kevin Pietersen, Steve Smith, Faf Du Plessis and Mitchell Marsh.

Gavaskar also opined that the team was lacking firepower even before it lost important players to injuries.

"True, they had a major setback with injuries, but even before that, there didn't seem to be the zing that one usually associates with a team led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni," Gavaskar was quoted as saying in the report.

"Even when Irfan Pathan was part of the Chennai Super Kings last season, he hardly got a look in and the same is happening here in the RPS team,'' further added.

Gavaskar also criticized Dhoni performance with the bat in the ongoing edition of the IPL.

"Dhoni's reluctance to come up the order in crucial times has cost the team matches that they should have won," he said.

RPS along with KXIP are already out of the race to qualify for the play-offs.