CHENNAI: One of Chennai Super Kings’ favourite party tricks is to keep going back to tried and tested ways. Signing (and retaining) multiple players from the auction pool, sacrificing unproven but exciting players for experience and using spin as an attacking weapon, at least in home games. On Saturday night, the four-time champions, in time-honoured fashion, appointed MS Dhoni as skipper for the third time.
Ravindra Jadeja, who was handed the reigns on a permanent basis before this year’s edition, decided to step down to focus ‘more on his game’. A 44-word statement, released on the franchise’s official website, said that Dhoni has accepted to skipper the side in the ‘larger interest’. “Ravindra Jadeja has decided to relinquish captaincy to focus and concentrate more on his game and has requested MS Dhoni to lead CSK,” the statement said. “MS Dhoni has accepted to lead CSK in the larger interest and to allow Jadeja to focus on his game.”
While the move in itself isn’t a surprise — the franchise are ninth in the table and will have to win every game from here on to even stand a chance of progressing — it reflects badly on the franchise, usually known for its role clarity and clear thinking. While the southpaw emerges from this episode with some credit — knowing it’s not working out and taking active steps to course correct is always commendable — Chennai have let themselves with their succession planning, or lack there of.
Something didn’t sit right when Dhoni announced his intention to walk away as skipper two days before the start of the 2022 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Even if Jadeja is understood to have been told by Dhoni that the former may take up the additional responsibilities during a conversation in December, Dhoni’s decision, on the eve of a new season, seemingly caught the franchise off-guard (CSK CEO, Kasi Vishwanathan, said so himself during a talk with an in-house channel in March).
The franchise did try to get back Faf du Plessis (very much part of the CSK leadership during their title run in 2021) at the 2022 auction but failed in their pursuit. With Jadeja wanting to focus on his game (its appeared several notches below what he’s usually capable of this year) and no Du Plessis, they have gone back to the 41-year-old to try and revive an almost lost cause. However, time is not on Dhoni’s side. So they might end up announcing another captain for next season.