On Thursday, March 21, it was officially announced that MS Dhoni, the legendary cricketer, will no longer lead the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) team. The surprising news came a day before the start of IPL 2024. The first match of the tournament will see Chennai Super Kings (CSK) facing Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Chennai on March 22.
CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan Made A Big Revelation
Now, the young and talented star opener of CSK, Ruturaj Gaikwad will take over the captaincy of the five-time champions, Chennai Super Kings (CSK). MS Dhoni, who has been the most successful captain in the history of the competition, will step down from this role.
MS Dhoni, who led CSK to 5 IPL titles, played 226 matches as captain in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He won 133 matches and lost 91, making him the only captain to win over 100 matches out of over 200 played.
After IPL’s official social media confirmed that Ruturaj Gaikwad would lead the franchise in the upcoming season, fans speculated on X that CSK had sacked MS Dhoni. “Sacked” became a top trend, check out how fans reacted:
MS Dhoni sacked from CSK captaincy….
Thala fans RN : pic.twitter.com/vw03DxCWHK
— UmdarTamker (@UmdarTamker) March 21, 2024
Rohit Sharma got sacked for Hardik Pandya
Dhoni is now the only captain in the IPL to get sacked thrice
We weren’t not sacked by captaincy from IPL 😎
— 𝘿 (@DilipVK18) March 21, 2024
MS Dhoni sacked from CSK captaincy….
Thala fans RN : pic.twitter.com/vw03DxCWHK
— UmdarTamker (@UmdarTamker) March 21, 2024
Mumbai Indians sacked Rohit as captain for IPL 2024
CSK sacked MS dhoni from captaincy for IPL 2024Meanwhile RCB never disrespected or sacked their main players kohli and ABD, When you are big, you are big. pic.twitter.com/5R2pOvjJWc
— Kevin (@imkevin149) March 21, 2024
– Dhoni got sacked twice in IPL
– Rohit Sharma got sacked for Hardik Pandya
We never got sacked from IPL 😎👑. pic.twitter.com/vihDY6CF4k— M. (@IconicKohIi) March 21, 2024
Unlike the 3 others we didn’t get sacked by our own franchise. Gambhirfc keeps winning pic.twitter.com/0bQurGK6XE
— babu bisleri (@baabuOP) March 21, 2024
Dhoni got sacked via a Twitter post 💔🙁 pic.twitter.com/7BmEVFjEW7
— Honest Dhoni Fan💛💛 (@WhistlePoduCsk7) March 21, 2024
Amidst trolling from some fans regarding MS Dhoni supposedly being sacked, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) released an official statement to clarify the situation. The franchise explicitly stated that Dhoni had not been sacked; rather, he had voluntarily decided to pass on the CSK captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad. He said:
“MS Dhoni has handed over Chennai Super Kings’ captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad ahead of the start of TATA IPL 2024.”
“Ruturaj has been an integral part of Chennai Super Kings since 2019 and has played 52 matches in IPL during this period. The team looks forward to the upcoming season,” the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) said in an official media release.
Further, CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan addressed the situation, stating that he was informed about Dhoni’s decision to step down as captain just before the IPL captains’ meeting. He further mentioned that the legendary wicketkeeper-batsman made this decision with the team’s best interests in mind. He said:
“Whatever Dhoni does, it is in the best interest of the team. I got to know of the decision just before the captains’ meeting. You have to respect his decision, it is his call,”
He added: “That captaincy transition (Ravindra Jadeja) did not work out but this is different,”
