Legendary wicketkeeper-batter Mahendra Singh Dhoni has stepped down as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain
Legendary wicketkeeper-batter Mahendra Singh Dhoni has stepped down as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain. He has has decided to hand over the leadership of the team to all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.
The franchise on Thursday took to social media and released an official statement to announce the change in leadership.
“Jadeja, who has been an integral part of Chennai Super Kings since 2012, will only be the third player to lead CSK. Dhoni will continue to represent Chennai Super Kings this season and beyond,” the statement read.
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According to ESPN Cricinfo, Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanathan stated that Dhoni wanted a smooth transition in leadership and felt Jadeja was ready to take the onus. It has also been learned that Dhoni announced his decision on on Thursday at the team meeting before the squad left for training.
“MS Dhoni was thinking about it,” Viswanathan said. “He felt it is the right time to hand over captaincy to Jaddu [Jadeja]. He feels Jaddu is also in prime form of his career and it is the ideal time for him lead CSK. What will be good for the franchise must be [in the] back of his mind,” he added.
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Dhoni, who had been the captain of CSK since the inception of the league in 2008, had already retired from international cricket in August 2020. Under his captaincy, Chennai won the IPL trophy in 2010, 2011, 2018 and 2021 apart from winning two now-defunct Champions League T20 titles in 2010 and 2014.
They hold the record for most appearances in the playoffs (eleven) and the Final (nine) of the IPL. CSK have the highest win percentage of matches among all teams in the IPL (64.83%).
When CSK were suspended for two years – in 2016 and 2017 – after the spot-fixing scandal came in focus, Dhoni played for the Rising Pune Supergiant, In the first season, he led the side but was replaced by Steve Smith the following year.
While the franchise came back in 2018 following the ban, Dhoni had one of the best years with the bat in IPL. He scored 455 runs at a strike rate of 150.66, helping CSK win their third title.
With Dhoni stepping down, the defending champions will begin their campaign against last season’s runner-up Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.
