Sanjay Bangar, former Indian batting coach, believes that skipper of CSK, MS Dhoni could hand over the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captaincy duty to teammate Faf du Plessis for IPL 2021 and represent the franchise just as a player.
In the recent edition of the Star Sports’ show Cricket Connected, Sanjay Bangar and Irfan Pathan put forth their views about the strategies that CSK and MS Dhoni could adopt going ahead.
Irfan Pathan: Next Year MS Dhoni Will Be Better Prepared Emphasizing On Fitness
Irfan Pathan was asked for his views if he sees 39 years old MS Dhoni preparing some teammate to take over the CSK captaincy role and if he has any such player in mind. The former CSK player responded that he couldn’t think of anyone at the moment while adding that MS Dhoni will come to IPL 2021 with renewed vigour and energy.
“As of now, I am not getting any such player in my mind. The next year I am seeing that MS Dhoni will come, there is only a gap of few months between this season and the next season, which means he will come better prepared with more emphasis on fitness,” said Irfan Pathan.
He also expressed hope that MS Dhoni will play next season’s IPL on the back of having played some domestic cricket, besides observing that some match practice would stand the CSK captain in good stead.
“I hope that he will come after a few matches before the IPL, which is very much required for any player, however great player you are like MS Dhoni is. So that is the one thing I will like to see,” said Irfan Pathan who played under MS Dhoni in limited-overs and IPL.
CSK failed to reach playoffs for the first time in their IPL history as until 2020, and they happen to be the only team to reach playoffs in every appearance. They were placed 7th this time with 6 wins and 8 losses.
Veteran batsman Shane Watson retired which meant likes of Faf Du Plessis who scored 449 runs in 13 games averaging 40 are the most experienced to take over the captaincy from MS Dhoni if needed so. MS Dhoni scored 200 runs in 14 games averaging a dismal 25. CSK have several players like Murali Vijay, Kedar Jadhav and a few others who ages more than 30.
Sanjay Bangar On MS Dhoni Handing Over CSK Captaincy To Faf Du Plessis
Sanjay Bangar replied positively when asked if CSK will have to change their strategy to give them the wins.
“They should definitely change that. There are members of all ages in a family and everyone has their own strength,” said Sanjay Bangar.
On the captaincy front, Sanjay Bangar highlighted that MS Dhoni did not relinquish the captaincy after the 2011 World Cup as no such leader was waiting and handed over the captaincy reins to Virat Kohli at an appropriate time.
“As far as I know, MS Dhoni might have thought after 2011 if he should be continuing to captain the Indian team but he knew that India had quite a few tough encounters after that…
“We had to go and play in England and Australia and at that time there was no captaincy candidate ready, so he only handled that burden and at the right time he handed over the captaincy to Virat Kohli and he also played after that,” Sanjay Bangar added.
Sanjay Bangar observed that MS Dhoni could hand over the CSK captaincy to Faf Du Plessis for IPL 2021 to ease the transition process.
“So as far as I can understand, I feel that MS Dhoni may not be the captain next year and may play as a player and give the captaincy at this stage to Faf du Plessis for the transition to happen under Faf du Plessis,” Bangar asserted.
Sanjay Bangar concluded that CSK does not have any other suitable option to take over the captaincy and is unlikely to get one at the IPL auction or in the trade window.
“Because as of now, they do not have any other option as a captain and if you talk outside the team, in the auction or in the trading, none of the teams would be releasing a player who has the capability of become the captain of CSK,” concluded Sanjay Bangar.
The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) might have to look for a captain as a replacement for MS Dhoni once he retires. Well, it will be the situation to look at considering the franchise if the mega auction takes place before IPL 2021. If it doesn’t happen, they could not even think of grooming Ravindra Jadeja for the role, as he had represented CSK for several years.