The 16th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will start after a few months. Only a few days are left for the auction of the season.
All IPL fans are very excited about the season and one of the reasons for the eagerness is that this may be the last season of an IPL legend MS Dhoni. The former Indian skipper played last season as a player under Ravindra Jadeja but later on took the captaincy from him in the middle of the season.
A year ago, MS Dhoni said in a function that he wants to quit the league as a player in Chennai. Now, it’s a big question for the management of CSK who can replace Dhoni Thala as captain?
The legendary Indian captain is one of the best captains in the history of the league and it is very hard to fill his big shoes. Recently, the management of CSK announced that MS Dhoni will lead the team for the coming season in 2023. A day after releasing CSK’s retained and released players ahead of the 2023 IPL auction, their CEO Kasi Viswanathan said, “Obviously everybody knows that Thalaivan (MS Dhoni) is the one who is going to lead the side and he will do his best and the team will do well”.
What went wrong with Sir Jadeja?
Last year, Chennai Super Kings appointed Ravindra Jadeja as their skipper just before the season but their decision failed.
Jadeja left the captaincy in the middle of the season due to poor results and handed over the steering wheel of the franchise to MS Dhoni again.
After the unsuccessful season, many news’ or reports came about the rift between CSK management and Ravindra Jadeja. All these rumours ended when CSK retained Jadeja for the IPL-16.
The major reason for Jadeja’s resignation as CSK captain was the team’s poor performance and the downfall in his own performance as well. This was Jadeja’s worst IPL season ever in terms of performance. In the season, he scored only 116 runs with an average of just 19.33 and took only 5 wickets.
Sparking Ruturaj is an option for future
Many people believe that star young Indian player Ruturaj Gaikwad can replace MS Dhoni as CSK captain.
The orange cap winner of IPL 2021, Ruturaj is one of the most dominant batters in the league recently. At a very young age, he has taken the burden of CSK’s batting on his shoulders in the last two seasons.
The management of the Chennai-based franchise likes players who are calm and effective like their captain MS Dhoni. All these qualities exist in Ruturaj Gaikwad. He is very young and recently he led his state team successfully in various domestic tournaments.
During IPL 2022, India’s former opener Virender Sehwag also said, “Ruturaj Gaikwad possesses all of MS Dhoni’s strengths and can lead CSK for a very long time”. Most probably he will take over the captaincy from MS Dhoni in the coming time.
New Joiner to lead the Yellow Army
Some of the cricket pundits and fans think that in the coming auction for IPL 2023, CSK will look for a player who can lead them in the future.
Kane Williamson and Ben Stokes are the top contenders for the post. The 4-time champion, CSK will definitely go for both Stokes and Williamson in the mini-auction.
Ben Stokes, who’s currently leading his national side successfully is also a good all-around option for the team.Kiwi batter Kane Williamson is also a captain of his national side like Ben Stokes and a solid middle-order batter who can take the game deep. Hence, either of them will be a good deal for CSK in the mini-auction of IPL 2023.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, MS Dhoni will lead the 4-time champion Chennai Super Kings again. This season Thala Dhoni and the management of CSK will look for an option for a skipper for the coming seasons. Most probably Ruturaj Gaikwad or new entrants like Stokes or Williamson can be the replacement for MS Dhoni as Chennai Super Kings’ skipper after IPL 2023.
FAQs:
1. Is there any rift between Jadeja and Dhoni?
Ans: No! There is no rift between MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja.
2. Is Jadeja leaving CSK?
Ans: No! Ravindra Jadeja is not leaving CSK. There were rumours that everything was not good between him and the franchise. All these rumours ended as CSK retained him for the IPL 2023.
3. Why did CSK leave out Suresh Raina in the last season?
Ans: CSK didn’t buy Suresh Raina in the IPL 2022 auction. According to some reports, he can join the franchise as a fielding coach in IPL 2023.
