MS Dhoni
Mahendra Singh Dhoni is known to be one of the most successful Indian national team captains. He made his debut in international cricket in the year 2004. In addition, his debut in Test cricket and T20 cricket was in 2005 and 2006 respectively. MS Dhoni did already take retirement from limited overs cricket in 2017 and test cricket in 2014.
In addition, being a captain of CSK, he did manage to make Chennai Super Kings one of the most successful teams in the Indian Premier League. There are numerous seasons when the team in yellow did finish with the title in hand or a runner-up. His role in the match as a batsman and wicket-keeper is incredible too. The decision-making during tough situations and the ability to handle pressure is impeccable.
We are about to begin with IPL 2023 in a few weeks. Sadly, there are anticipations about MS dhoni retiring from IPL this year. Though, he did not make any official statement confirming it so far. However, there is a statement from one of the officials from CSK, ‘We believe this will be his last season as he wants to bid farewell at his favorite stadium. In any case, we should have clarity by the start of the IPL.”
On the other hand, the official also said,” MS has not informed us of his decision and there is no pressure on him to do so. He is our leader and will do what is best for the team. As far as the management is concerned, MS has our full support whether he continues beyond this season.”
This keeps a check over the whole retiring thought.
Who will be the next captain of CSK
In 2022, when Ravindra Jadeja did become the captain of CSK, there were rumors about the retirement of MS Dhoni that very year. But of course, we still have him. However, the officials do not have final confirmation from Dhoni. Yet, they will look for options for a new captain which can replace the current one after IPL 2023.
Basically, they have three viable options to choose a captain from. Those are Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ben Stokes and Ajinkya Rahane.
With Ben Stokes’s conditional NOC, it is not certain whether he will be staying for whole seasons of IPL or not. In fact, there is information about him being not allowed to bowl in all matches as per the conditional NOC. Therefore, he might play just as a batsman in IPL 2023 or even in upcoming seasons too. This definitely gives the impression that Stokes can not be a captain of CSK.
Coming to Rahane, there are even doubts about him being in the playing eleven of CSK in IPL 2023. Thus, him as a captain is also not what the team management will think of. Though he is not completely ruled out yet.
The young talent, Ruturaj Gaikwad, is leading the race of captaincy. In fact, his performance record is impressive too.
Moreover, we have a comment from a CSK official, “Of course, we are very happy to have Ben Stokes. He is not only a match-winner but also a great leader. It is MS’s call on who he will name as his successor. With foreign players leading in the IPL, there is always the problem of combination. All-rounders can also be tricky to handle. If Ben does not get a NOC next year, it will be a problem. So, one can never rule out the young Ruturaj.”
To sum up
To sum up, we can say that there is quite a fair chance that the former brain of the Indian National team and current strategist on the ground for CSK, might retire after IPL 2023. He may announce the big news before starting the IPL season this year. As Chepauk Stadium is his home ground. Thus, MS Dhoni might say goodbye to this format of cricket too in front of his own people. Of course, the fans of this great player will be extremely sad hearing this. Still, everyone must be proud of him. The only captain who did win the World cups in all three formats of cricket, which definitely a remarkable achievement.
Let us see when the official statement comes. It will be great to watch him play at IPL 2023. Just wait for the fun to begin.
