Former Chennai Super Kings batsman S Badrinath revealed that the Chennai-based franchise did not have former Indian skipper, MS Dhoni, as their first choice to lead the team. Instead, they wanted hard-hitting opener Virender Sehwag to be the captain of CSK. But Sehwag wanted to play for the Delhi Daredevils as he had grown up playing for Delhi and felt a strong connection with the team.
This propelled the team management to find other options and that was when MS Dhoni came into the picture. India winning the 2007 T20 World Cup under the leadership of MS Dhoni was one of the main reasons why the CSK franchise chased him.
“IPL started in 2008, and if you see who was the first option for Chennai Super Kings, it was Virender Sehwag. The management had decided on picking Sehwag for sure, but Sehwag himself said that he was brought up in Delhi, so he would have a better connection,” S Badrinath said on his YouTube channel.
“The management agreed for him to play in Delhi, thinking it would be better. Then came the auctions, and they saw who was the better player, and before that India won the 2007 World T20. And only then did they decide to sign Dhoni,” Badrinath further added.
MS Dhoni signing up for CSK was like killing three birds with a stone: S Badrinath
S Badrinath opined that Dhoni joining CSK had three huge advantages to the franchise. The first advantage was that he was one of the best readers of the game which made him one of the most successful white-ball captains ever. The second advantage was that he was a great finisher, something that was crucial in T20 cricket. And the last advantage was that he was fantastic with his glovework even though it was unconventional.
“According to me, MS Dhoni coming to CSK was killing three birds with one stone. One, he is one of the best captains the world has ever seen. There is no trophy that he doesn’t have,” Badrinath said.
“Second, the best finisher. A finisher is a very important part of all the best T20 teams around the world. Even if you see all the good teams today, Mumbai Indians have Pollard, Kolkata Knight Riders have Andre Russell, CSK has MS Dhoni. And third, he is an excellent wicketkeeper. One of the best and safest keepers I have ever seen,” he added.
The first game of the IPL 2020 season will see defending champions Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings lock horns with each other on 19th September at Abu Dhabi.
