IPL 10: RPS owner Sanjeev Goenka reveals reason behind replacing MS Dhoni with Steve Smith as captain

In the 2016 season, Dhoni scored 284 runs from 12 innings with only one fifty to his credit for RPS.

New Delhi: Ahead of the 2017 IPL auction, the cricketing fraternity was left stunned hearing the news of MS Dhoni being replaced by Steve Smith as the captain of Rising Pune Supergiants.

RPS, who finished the 2016 season as second worst team of the Indian Premier league, decided to put a new leader in place but opted to keep MS Dhoni in the team.

In an interview with India Today, RPS team owner Sanjeev Goenka confirmed the development and revealed the reason behind captaincy change.

"We have opted for Steve Smith as captain of RPS for the forthcoming IPL season. We wanted a young captain. We spoke to Steve Smith and he agreed. We have communicated the decision to Dhoni. He is a thorough professional. Dhoni and Smith share a great rapport. MS is ready to help him on the field."

As far as Dhoni's record for RPS is concerned, he only scored 284 runs from 12 innings with only one fifty to his credit. Hopefully, with the captaincy burden off, he will be able to express himself more and get himself in peak form ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy in June.

The 35-year-old Mahi, who led Chennai Super Kings to two consecutive IPL titles in 2010 and 2011, recently decided to hand over the captaincy bandwagon of Indian cricket team to Virat Kohli.