MS Dhoni not captaining the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) franchise was a waste of resources by the franchise as per AB de Villiers. This comes after CSK was eliminated in the league stages of the IPL 2024 under the captaincy of Ruturaj Gaikwad.
AB de Villiers, ahead of the first match of the IPL 2024 between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, had argued that MS Dhoni’s decision to step down as captain of CSK was a “huge mistake,” citing the controversial Ravindra Jadeja move from the 2022 season.
With Chennai finishing fifth in IPL 2024, with seven wins and as many losses in the season, de Villers, doubled down on his pre-season remark, saying that Dhoni should remain the captain of CSK if he is part of the squad.
He claimed that Dhoni’s choice to stand down from leadership made the five-time winners less fearsome during the season, resulting in a decrease in their performance.
Having MS Dhoni as captain is the most intimidating sight: AB de Villiers
He cited occasions in which Dhoni’s strategic moves may have made a difference in important matches.
“I will only give you an honest answer if you’re going to report it in the right way, yes, so I wouldn’t say I called it a mistake. What I meant by that was with MS Dhoni around, playing against MS for so many years, that is the most intimidating sight to have him as an opposing captain,” said de Villiers in response to a query from Hindustan Times during a press interaction.
“They took away quite a bit of intimidation factor from CSK with not having him as captain. It’s got nothing to do with Gaikwad’s captaincy. I actually think he’s got a very bright future and he captained extremely well,” he added.
The former South Africa captain examined Chennai’s Jadeja move in 2022. Just like in 2024, CSK designated the all-rounder as the new Chennai captain before the season began, but with the team wallowing at the bottom of the league halfway through the competition, Dhoni took over the role once more.
“Just having MS around, I always felt like it’s going to be a waste not having him as captain. They tried it before. It didn’t work (when Jadeja was replaced mid season). And unfortunately, this year, yes, you’ve got to look at the results. The majority of the games they played well, but at the end of the day they didn’t qualify for the knockouts. It’s definitely not because of Gaikwad’s captaincy. I do, however, ever feel that when MS is around, he should be captain,” he added.
AB de Villiers wants MS Dhoni to captain CSK if he chooses to return in IPL 2025.
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