IPL 2022: Chennai Super Kings couldn’t move on from MS Dhoni

On the eve of the IPL 2022, MS Dhoni surprised the cricketing world with his decision to relinquish Chennai Super Kings captaincy. At 40, he handed over the baton to all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja to initiate the process of a seamless transition of the captaincy with him keeping the wickets.

Also read: Jadeja hands over CSK captaincy to Dhoni: How did midseason captaincy changes work in past?

Jadeja is an acrobatic fielder, an utility left-arm spinner, and handy batter. But captaincy may be not everybody’s cup of tea. Under pressure, Jadeja failed to make an impact both as a captain and an all-rounder. He dropped easy catches and hardly contributed with the ball and bat. This showed that Jadeja was not enjoying the added pressure of captaincy.

In some cases, Dhoni was spotted changing field placements with Jadeja following his order.

Also read: IPL 2022: Ravindra Jadeja hands back CSK captaincy to Dhoni

If the captain himself is not performing and stressed due to overwhelming pressure of captaincy, the team is unlikely to be inspired to do something extraordinary.

Dhoni, cool like cucumber, never lost faith over his abilities. His last over finishes is one such example of his powerful personality.

His ability to handle pressure and win matches from the jaws of defeat made him one of the best captains in international cricket.

Also read: Invisible ink? RR just can’t read MI debutant Kumar Kartikeya Singh

In IPL, he single-handedly led CSK to four trophy wins. For CSK, finding an alternative to such a great personality would not be easy. Dhoni is a once in a generation cricketer. Finding an unorthodox crickters like him would be difficult for any team.

Dhoni is also the second most successful captain in IPL history with 59.60 winning percentage.

At this moment of IPL, CSK might not interested to do anymore experiment with captaincy, so they gave it back to Dhoni.

Also read: Poor selection? Mumbai Indians continue with Pollard, bench Dewald Brevis

With six matches remaining, the Yellow Brigade will look to win their last few matches and start the search for their next captain early before the next season of IPL.

Dhoni is not a long-term solution for CSK. He is 40 and not growing younger.