MS Dhoni is a man of his own. Instead of having a full night dedicated to himself, the wicketkeeper decided to quietly announce that he’s stepping down as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain. Minutes before the start of the IPL 2024 captains’ meeting, the IPL legend informed the franchise CEO, Kasi Viswanathan, that he’d decided to pass the baton to Ruturaj Gaikwad.
Talking about Dhoni’s sudden announcement to step down as captain, the CSK CEO said to PTI:
“Whatever Dhoni does, it is in the best interest of the team. I got to know of the decision just before the captains’ meeting. You have to respect his decision, it is his call.”
Deja vu of the 2022 captaincy change?
In the IPL 2022 season, the franchise and MS Dhoni went down the same route. They handed the leadership to Ravindra Jadeja, with the wicketkeeper taking a backseat. That move backfired, and Jadeja stepped down after leading the side in just 8 matches (winning just 2).
However, Kasi Viswanathan is certain that this time around things will be different. When asked if having Ruturaj lead the side, keeping in mind what had transpired before, he replied:
“It didn’t work out at that time, this is different”.
