The most capped player in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL), MS Dhoni will be featuring in the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) squad only as a player. CSK will be commencing their title defense against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the opening game of the 2022 season. Dhoni has played 12 seasons for CSK and he had also played a couple of seasons with the Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) when CSK was banned for IPL 2016 and 2017. During the 2016 season, RPS hired a performance analyst coach Prasanna Agoram.
Prior to his appointment, Agoram worked with a few IPL franchises and the South Africa cricket team as well. Recalling his early days with MS Dhoni at RPS, Agoram revealed that the four-time IPL-winning skipper did not want advice until he asked for it himself.
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During a recent conversation with Cricbuzz, the coach said, “When I had the opportunity to work with Mahendra Singh Dhoni for Pune Super Giants in IPL 2016, the first day we met he said, ‘Let’s have a chat.’ We were in the Pune Stadium and he was about to put his pads on. He asked if he could get me a filter of coffee. ‘Yes please,’ I replied. He called the guys there and gave a wink to get a filter coffee, and then continued chatting with me.”
He further added, “Look, I know you have a lot of experience in this field and that players like you, and the coach Stephen Fleming got you on board. It’s a pleasure to work with you. Give all the info and strategies to the coach and the players. Get the strategy meetings done with the players along with the coach, but don’t expect me to be there and also don’t give me any advice until I ask you. But mark a copy on the email on all your communications with the coach and players.”
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RPS witnessed a forgettable outing in IPL 2016, with only 5 wins from 14 matches that forced them to finish at 7th place on the points table. MS Dhoni returned as CSK captain in 2018 and captained them to their third title win. They emulated their heroics last year with a win over KKR in the final.
Just before the start of IPL 2022, Dhoni stepped down as CSK’s captain and will be playing under Ravindra Jadeja. It will be for the first time that Dhoni will play under a new skipper in IPL for the Yellow Brigade.
