Vivo IPL 2021: 3 Players who can lead CSK after MS Dhoni’s retirement.
Vivo IPL 2021: The success of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has been synonymous with MS Dhoni’s success over the years in the shortest format of cricket. CSK has experienced enormous triumph under MS Dhoni and his leadership has been one of the prominent factors in building up the fearless squad.
Dhoni till now in 12 IPL seasons (out of 14 IPL seasons CSK played 12 IPL seasons, for 2 years the franchise was banned), has lifted IPL titles three times with CSK. The Chennai based IPL franchise is the only franchise in the history of cricket to qualify for the playoffs in every season except the last one in 2020.
As said earlier, Chennai’s success is synonymous with MS Dhoni’s performance. The Dream11 IPL 2020 turned out to be a forgetful outing for the outfit in yellow as they finished second last in the points table and on top of that, MS Dhoni and Co., for the first time, were not able to qualify for the playoffs.
With the age factor coming into play, anytime soon MS Dhoni will himself step down from the captaincy and will ask other CSK members to lead the side. The fact that he’s stepping down will affect a lot is because he is not featuring in any form of cricket lately and is only playing the Indian Premier League.
Although most of the experts do feel that MS Dhoni will remain attached with the franchise as a coaching staff and will share his experience and expertise with other budding cricketers of CSK.
In this article, we will take a look at top 3 most prominent contenders to lead Chennai Super Kings (CSK) once MS Dhoni steps down from the role.
Vivo IPL 2021: 3 Players who can lead CSK after MS Dhoni’s retirement:
3. Ravindra Jadeja:
The southpaw over the years has been an integral member of the Chennai squad. If the experts are to be believed, Ravindra Jadeja is the top contender to don the captain’s cap once MS Dhoni steps down from the role.
Lately, the left-arm spin all-rounder is in sensational form and is consistent with both bat and ball. He scores crucial runs for his team and is also quite handy with the ball.
The fact that takes Jadeja’s name closer to the captain’s cap is his fitness and his dedication to lead. He is one of the best athletes for India and probably for the world. He is also keen on leading a team.
Overall, in 191 IPL games, Jadeja has scored over 2000 runs and has also scalped 120 wickets.
Vivo IPL 2021: 3 Players who can lead CSK after MS Dhoni’s retirement.
2. Suresh Raina:
MS Dhoni’s current Chennai Super Kings (CSK) deputy Suresh Raina is also the contender for the captain’s role. Being the vice-captain of the side, he automatically becomes the contender moreover he has led CSK in a couple of games, when MS Dhoni was rested.
Besides this, he took the reins of Gujrat Lions for two years and did quite decent there.
Suresh Raina might not be the ideal choice for the CSK management, as he will also take himself away from the game anytime soon. He is already 34 years old and his form and performance will also be a factor to consider.
Raina’s captaincy record is also not extraordinary. In 34 games he led he managed to win just 14 while in 18 games his team ended on a losing side.
One more angle is there when it comes to giving captaincy to Suresh Raina. CSK management might think to give him the captaincy reins for a couple of years and appoint another bright CSK prospect like Ruturaj Gaikwad, Deepak Chahar, Sam Curran etc. as his deputy and assign him certain roles.
These cricketers will get into the groove after a couple of years and once the management feels like it’s time to switch the roles then the three aforementioned players can lead the side.
Vivo IPL 2021: 3 Players who can lead CSK after MS Dhoni’s retirement
1. Sam Curran:
The English all-rounder Sam Curran is also a prominent aspect for CSK in the future. He has shown great intent and character even in the bad phase of CSK back in 2020.
Sam Curran has been brilliant ever since, he was picked by CSK in the auctions and he has performed consistently.
He was quite effective with the ball in the power plays and at death overs when every other CSK bowler was leaking runs. He also made his valuable contributions with willow in hand and quite a few times opened the innings for CSK.
Overall Curran is a bright package of all-rounder cricketer and can even overshadow the likes of Ravindra Jadeja in the coming future.
CSK can play cards on him in the near future and might be a possibility for him to become a long term skipper of CSK after MS Dhoni.
Here the situation comes that for a couple of years Suresh Raina to lead a side and make Sam Curran as vice-captain. Hone the skills and once the product is ready, launch him.
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Vivo IPL 2021: 3 Players who can lead CSK after MS Dhoni’s retirement