On the eve of the IPL 2024 opener, MS Dhoni stepped down as CSK captain, handing over the leadership baton to Ruturaj Gaikwad, who failed to take the team to the playoffs.
Despite struggling with a calf injury, Dhoni’s performance this season was remarkable as he amassed 161 runs at an average of 53.66 and a staggering strike rate of 220.54 across 11 innings.
It remains to be seen whether the 42-year-old will come back to play for another season or will call time on his professional cricketing career.
Meanwhile, South African legend AB de Villiers has suggested Dhoni to lead CSK if he decides to play another IPL season.
Under Gaikwad’s leadership, the defending champions finished the season at the fifth position with 14 points to their name but an inferior run-rate meant that they missed out on the playoffs spot.
Ahead of the season, De Villier had called Dhoni quitting CSK’s captaincy a mistake and he stood by his comments.
"I will only give you an honest answer if you're going to report it in the right way yes so I wouldn't say I called it a mistake. What I meant by that was with MS Dhoni around, playing against MS for so many years, that is the most intimidating sight to have him as an opposing captain," said De Villiers in a select media interaction arranged by Jio Cinema.
"They took away quite a bit of intimidation factor from CSK with not having him as captain. It's got nothing to do with Gaikwad's captaincy. I actually think he's got a very bright future and he captained extremely well.
"But just having MS around, I always felt like it's going to be a waste not having him as captain. They tried it before. It didn't work (when Jadeja was replaced mid season). And unfortunately this year, yes, you've got to look at the results.
"The majority of the games they played well, but at the end of the day they didn't qualify for the knockouts. It's definitely not because of Gaikwad's captaincy. I do however ever feel that when MS is around he should be captain," he added.
MS Dhoni's future in the IPL remains a topic of debate as he has left everyone guessing. He retired from international cricket in August 2020.
Amid the speculations, CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan has said that they have always respected the decisions taken by Dhoni and the decision on his future in the franchise has been left to him, which they expect will come at an appropriate time.
“I do not know. It is a question only MS (Dhoni) can answer. We have always respected the decisions taken by MS. We have left it to him and as all of you know he has always taken his decisions and announced them at the appropriate time,” said Viswanathan in a video posted by CSK on YouTube.
“We do expect that we will get a decision as and when he decides. But we are very hopeful he'll be available for CSK next year. That is the view and expectation of the fans and mine,” he added.
