Why did MS Dhoni quit CSK Captaincy? Super Kings CEO Viswanathan gives reason

Chennai, March 24: MS Dhoni on Thursday (March 24) handed over the captaincy of Chennai Super Kings to Ravindra Jadeja ahead of IPL 2022, which kickstarts on Saturday (March 26).

Jadeja will be the third cricketer to lead CSK after Dhoni and Suresh Raina. Jadeja had joined the Super Kings in 2012 from the erstwhile Kochi Tuskers Kerala.

Since then, the all-rounder has been an integral part of the CSK core unit along with Dhoni, Dwayne Bravo and Raina, who is no longer part of the franchise from IPL 2022.

There have been speculations on the future of Dhoni as the captain of CSK since the last two seasons starting from IPL 2020, the year in which Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket.

Kasi Viswanathan, the Super Kings CEO, explained the rationale behind Dhoni stepping away from the captaincy role just two days ahead of their first match of the IPL 2022 against the Kolkata Knight Riders.

"MS Dhoni was thinking about it," Viswanathan was quoted as saying by the ESPNCricinfo. "He felt it is the right time to hand over captaincy to Jaddu. He feels Jaddu is also in prime form of his career and it is the ideal time for him lead CSK. What will be good for the franchise must be in the back of his mind,” said Viswanathan.

Viswanathan said while there was no one-to-one discussion within the CSK ranks about captaincy change, it was a topic that was discussed ahead of the IPL 2021.

Viswanathan also said Jadeja was kept in the loop of the things. “He [Jadeja] has been talked to earlier. Even last year, there was a proposal. We knew he would be the best person to succeed MS,” he said.

Viswanathan compared Dhoni handing over the reins of CSK to Jadeja to the Jharkhand man giving the captaincy of Indian team to Virat Kohli back in 2015. He was intending to keep the the transition process as smooth as possible.

“It is similar to when he (Dhoni) handed Virat the captaincy (of India) after having groomed him for a few years at international level. Similarly, he wanted the transition to be smooth (in CSK),” he added.

Viswanathan said the CSK team has immense confidence in leadership ability of Jadeja.

"Jaddu has the potential to do well for the franchise," he said. "He is a good all-round cricketer, playing his best, he can get the team around. And MS' guidance will always be there. This will be a good induction programme,” said Viswanathan.

"MS Dhoni has decided to hand over the leadership of Chennai Super Kings and picked Ravindra Jadeja to lead the team.

“Jadeja, who has been an integral part of Chennai Super Kings since 2012, will only be the third player to lead CSK. Dhoni will continue to represent Chennai Super Kings this season and beyond," said an official statement from CSK.

Former CSK captain and player Raina congratulated Jadeja on his elevation as the team’s captain ahead of IPL 2022. “Absolutely thrilled for my brother. I can't think of anyone better to take over the reins of a franchise we both had grown up in. All the best @imjadeja. It's an exciting phase and I'm sure you will live up to all the expectations and love,” tweeted Raina.