MS Dhoni quits captaincy: How and when did ‘Thala’ decide to give up CSK leadership

Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanathan revealed that MS Dhoni was already planning to leave captaincy and was waiting for the right moment.

Former CSK skipper MS Dhoni. (Source: Twitter)

Former India captain MS Dhoni once again shocked the world by giving up captaincy of Chennai Super Kings just a couple of days before Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 gets underway. Dhoni passed the captaincy baton to all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja as defending champions CSK will face 2021 runners-up Kolkata Knight Riders in the opening game of IPL 2022 on Saturday (March 26).

Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanathan revealed that Dhoni was already planning to leave captaincy and was waiting for the right moment. “He announced the decision at a team meeting today after practice. But he was already thinking about it. MS thought Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja) was ready to take the mantle and was at his best form to take the leadership role,” CSK CEO told InsideSport website.

According to the report, CSK insiders say they were taken by surprise when Dhoni informed CEO about his decision in morning. He also said that he wanted to speak chairman of India cements and former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president N. Srinivasan.

Around 10 in the morning a request was made to Srinivasan’s office from CSK team CEO in Mumbai. In afternoon, Dhoni got on a call with Mr. Srinivasan and informed him about his decision. People close to Dhoni say that Srinivasan was also taken aback initially but at the end of the call, he understood it. The call lasted for about 10 minutes.

After the call, Dhoni informed the entire team during a team meeting about his decision, much like Virat Kohli had done while giving up Test captaincy earlier this year. At the players meeting itself, Ravindra Jadeja was announced as CSK captain.

There's nothing that could have prepared us for this! Let the Bigils take over! #Superfam #WhistlePodu @msdhoni @imjadeja pic.twitter.com/sfu9xyclWw — Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) March 24, 2022

The only time one saw Dhoni with moistened eyes in a public gathering was in 2018 when CSK made a comeback in IPL. Boy, he was emotional and the connect was visible. He is Chennai’s own ‘Thala’, who can never go wrong. He is a captain of their soul, they believe he is ‘Invictus’ (Unconquerable) and why not? No IPL franchise has been a part of nine IPL finals in 12 editions (Remember, they were suspended twice).

His art of captaincy is based on two basic traits – common sense and instinct. The common sense was about never making games of T20 cricket too complicated while setting a template and consistent set-up in order.

The instinct part came with a clear idea of which player can perform specific roles and what is it that he is looking in them? A lot of guts and some amount of game sense. He never relied on analytics, long and winding team meetings, 'team catalyst', baseball coach as power hitter and fancy terms.

That’s why he relied on tried and tested international players and customised a few home grown himself. Whether it’s Dwayne Bravo or Faf du Plessis, or Josh Hazlewood or the likes of Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Jadeja or Ruturaj Gaikwad, they were picked based on specific roles that they could perform year after year.

(with PTI inputs)