Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers said that he feels MS Dhoni chose the right time to step away from the leadership duties in the Indian Premier League (IPL). On March 24, CSK shocked their fans and cricket fraternity in general with the news that their 4-time IPL winning captain Dhoni was stepping down from the post.

Instead of Dhoni, CSK will be captained by Ravindra Jadeja in the upcoming IPL 2022 edition, when they clash with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the tournament opener in Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.

De Villiers also said that he was not surprised by the move made by MS Dhoni.

“I am not surprised by MS's move. I am actually quite happy for him. Having carried that burden for so long, people might think that it is easy to be captain, but it really wears you down. You have sleepless nights sometimes, especially when you don't have good seasons. But I think he stepped away at exactly the right time, having won the last IPL,” De Villiers said during a discussion on VUSport Scouts.

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"The season before the last would have hurt him a lot. To come back and win the trophy and then say 'I’ll still play but someone else takes over and I'll be there to support', it’s the perfect move," said De Villiers. 

De Villiers called time on his cricketing career after the IPL 2021 edition, while MS Dhoni had retired from international cricket in August 2020. The Proteas batting genius however said that he is looking forward to seeing the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman just enjoy himself.  

"I am excited to watch MS just enjoy himself, to hit those big sixes again. Not to think too much about strategies and having to monitor guys. He can just go out there and hit sixes and entertain the entire world with what he does best, and that is to play cricket and win games," he said.