MS Dhoni has always been a phenomenal force in the ranks of Indian cricket. Not only has been a mastermind in the international arcade but his farsightedness makes him a visionary in any format of the game that he has been a part of.
Now if we drift our attention to the glittering fabric of IPL, it goes without a saying that MS Dhoni has been a crucial part of the CSK squad and his captaincy has helped the franchise to walk on glass and claim the hallowed trophy a staggering 4 times.
It is well-known to us that he will be stepping down from the mantle of the game probably at the end of this year. He has already given up on his captaincy and now MS Dhoni is a very watchful figure behind the stumps.
The most obvious question here is will CSK be the same reckoning force without MS Dhoni? If I may answer this truly, it would be a big yes. If you would take a look at the last three IPL campaigns, Dhoni has been reduced to a peripheral figure in terms of cricket.
It is quite obvious as you do not expect a man who has given up so much for the franchise or the country in his prime to deliver day in and day out at the age of 40 plus. It is a basic sense, that his cricketing numbers won’t really be great.
Now what remains is his cricketing nous and it is said that the older you get, the more intelligent you become. For the sake of discourse, even if we take the fact at face value that it is his captaincy that CSK is missing in the ongoing edition, I am sorry to say but whoever says this doesn’t understand the game.
In 2021, CSK lifted the trophy for the fourth time. There were very few instances where they made a close cut and Dhoni’s microscopic implementation of the most acute strategies was not really put to use. Yet, they lifted the trophy.
In 2022, the management somehow believed that they will get the entire band back, forgetting the fact that in order for an old unit to perform in the way it did, they would first need to bag their captain back. CSK thought it is okay to replace Faf du Plessis with Devon Conway and the results are evident.
Just in case you are still wondering that it is Jadeja’s fault for Chennai’s minimal returns, I am sorry to say that you need to be more practical. It is quite obvious, that in some way or the other, MS Dhoni will be linked with the Chennai squad.
Believe it or not, even without him, the team will thrive. After all, if you take a close look at the preceding campaigns it isn’t MS Dhoni who did the only difference. He led the charge and the team was successful as a collective unit. This is the best part about CSK. They succeed as a team and not on the individual madness that we pine for.
This is exactly why when MS Dhoni steps down, Jadeja or someone else will be carrying the baton of excellence that this team always has managed to ordain themselves with.
