“I can’t continue leading the side forever”: MS Dhoni on stepping down as captain of Chennai

In what came as a piece of shocking news to fans of the Chennai team, MS Dhoni stepped down as the captain of the team on 24^th March, two days before the beginning of the Indian T20 League 2022. Dhoni handed over the responsibilities to the star all-rounder of the team Ravindra Jadeja.

A day after the decision was announced by the team on their official website, reports started going around about MSD’s reasoning behind the decision. According to the reports, Dhoni told the management that he is 40 years old now and can’t continue leading the side forever.

The report by Cricbuzz claims that the CEO of the team Kasi Viswanathan was surprised when Dhoni communicated his decision to him and assured him that he will Jadeja in the role. A source close to the team management also informed that there was a call to the Chennai office of N.Srinivasan from the team hotel in Mumbai. Srinivasan was busy at the time and returned a call around noon, during which Dhoni let him know about his decision.

The report also quoted a source that claimed that there is never a discussion in the team over MSD’s decision. He is the ‘supremo’ of the team and everyone follows him blindly. When the team’s CEO asked Dhoni about his intentions of playing as a player, he said that he wants to play his last match in Chennai but will be available for one or two seasons only.

A Chennai insider confirmed that they have backed Ravindra Jadeja for long and would continue backing him in the new role. He also revealed that the discussion at the coaching level was already on and they kept a close eye on Jadeja’s performance in the Sri Lanka series.