On the eve of the IPL 2024 opener, MS Dhoni stepped down as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain, much to the surprise of the fans and cricket experts.

Dhoni, who has led the Super Kings to as many as five IPL titles, handed over the captaincy reins to top-order batter Ruturaj Gaikwad.

Reacting to the development, South African legend AB de Villiers opined that Dhoni quitting the CSK captaincy is a huge mistake.

Like 2022, Dhoni relinquished CSK’s captaincy a day before the start of the season. Two years ago, he handed over the reins to Ravindra Jadeja only to see the all-rounder hand it back to him midway through the tournament after a string of poor performances.

"I think it's a huge mistake. To me, MS Dhoni is five guys in the team as captain. Will that work together? I am not sure. We will have to wait and see. I do think it's a mistake. What happened last time is similar. I feel CSK's all about MS Dhoni's leadership. And his captaincy will be a mistake," De Villiers told JioCinema.

On the other hand, Australia’s star batter Steve Smith feels that MS Dhoni will be under less pressure, having given up his role as CSK’s captain.

“He's traditionally batting in that lower order where he's facing 8 to 10 balls potentially. He will be looking to just maximize the impact as much as he can. I think it’s a good opportunity for him. He’ll be under less pressure now as he’s not the captain. He can come out and play freely at the back end,” said Smith while speaking on Star Sports.

Dhoni has played 250 matches in the IPL so far, amassing 5,082 runs at a strike rate of 135.92 over the course of 16 seasons.

Meanwhile, CSK’s new skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad has revealed that MS Dhoni had hinted him about the captaincy change last year.

"Last year itself, Mahi bhai had hinted about captaincy at some point of time," Gaikwad told iplt20.com. "He just hinted that, 'be ready, it shouldn't be a surprise to you'. When we came into the camp, he involved me in some of the match simulation."