South Africa great AB de Villiers said that MS Dhoni quitting the captaincy of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on the eve of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 is a huge mistake. However, Dhoni handed the Chennai Super Kings captaincy to the young and talented opener Ruturaj Gaikwad on Thursday (March 21). While on March 4, he shared a mysterious statement on his social media account, saying, “Can’t wait for the new season and the new ‘role’.” Stay tuned!” the true context has been understood almost two weeks later as well.
“I think it’s a huge mistake. To me, MS Dhoni is five guys in the team as captain. Will that work together? I am not sure. We will have to wait and see. I do think it’s a mistake. What happened last time is similar. I feel CSK’s all about MS Dhoni’s leadership. And his captaincy will be a mistake,” AB de Villiers told JioCinema.
“Last year itself, Mahi bhai had hinted about captaincy at some point of time,” Ruturaj Gaikwad told IPLT20.com. “He just hinted that, ‘be ready, it shouldn’t be a surprise to you’. When we came into the camp, he involved me in some of the match simulation.”
However, MS Dhoni led CSK in 235 of their 249 games across all competitions, taking them to two Champions League T20 crowns and five IPL titles in 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021, and 2023 as well. Under him, CSK was so consistent that the team finished outside the top four only twice – in 2020 and 2022 – while also making the final ten times, including four consecutive years from 2010 to 2013 as well. He also led Rising Pune Supergiant for 14 games during CSK’s two-year suspension from the IPL in 2016 and 2017 as well. In total, he led teams in 226 IPL games as well.
Meanwhile, AB de Villiers shared his prediction for Yashasvi Jaiswal ahead of IPL 2024 that he would score big.
“There’s one guy that I absolutely cannot wait to watch. That’s Jaiswal. He showed in the Test format what he’s capable of. Now it’s time for him in T20 cricket to really show his talent. With the amount of confidence he took from that Test series, to take that into this IPL, I’m expecting fireworks from this guy. I’m expecting at least a 500-plus season, maybe even 600-plus,” he said.
“He had a very good SA20 tournament. The year before that, he was a bit out of form, but this year, he’s put up his hand and showed signs of what he’s capable of. He’s a very talented young player, hits the ball very, very hard, he offers a lot with the ball in hand as well, he can bowl you off-spin, and he’s absolutely incredible in the field. So, keep an eye out for him,” he concluded.
