MS Dhoni on Thursday pulled the curtains down on an illustrious captaincy spell with Chennai Super Kings, just two days before their IPL 2022 opener against Kolkata Knight Riders. The 40-year-old Dhoni, who led the franchise to four IPL trophies and two Champions League T20 titles before passing over the baton to all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who has also played a key role in the team's success.
Jadeja, 33, is being seen as an ideal replacement, given the fact that his international career has scaled new heights over the last couple of years. He was also CSK's number one retention before the auction ahead of Dhoni, Moeen Ali and Ruturaj Gaikwad.
Former India cricketer Atul Wassan has also labelled Jadeja as the Chennai-based outfit's "best bet". He believes Dhoni hasn't got many years under his belt and the franchise has done the right thing by grooming Jadeja for the leadership role.
"Well done it's a good decision I think there is no point because you have to invest in the younger guy. Jadeja is fabulous in his Test form, one form and his T20 form. He is one of the most complete cricketers," Wassan told ANI.
{{/usCountry}}"Well done it's a good decision I think there is no point because you have to invest in the younger guy. Jadeja is fabulous in his Test form, one form and his T20 form. He is one of the most complete cricketers," Wassan told ANI.
{{/usCountry}}"Just to groom him for a leadership role you know it will be very good for CSK for a long time because he has got a good six to seven years of cricket ahead and Dhoni, even if he is captain, is going to have his inputs. So, Ravindra Jadeja while he is playing I can't see Dhoni playing for too many years after this IPL he is going to retire."
Wassan also cited the example of Rishabh Pant, who was given the charge of Delhi Capitals. He will be leading the franchise for the second time after guiding it to the playoffs last year.
"After you have retired from international cricket, then there is no motivation. We are wondering why he is playing and the connection that he has with CSK and the kind of franchise pressure he has with CSK. Just him being there will invest in the youngsters. So, I think Jadeja is the best bet. For Delhi also Rishabh was breaking for Delhi and he was a rookie. After doing so well, we made him the captain," said Wassan.
Jadeja is yet to prove his captaincy prowess but Wassan feels trophy count shouldn't be the only yardstick of a leader's contribution towards his team's success.
"I don't have any empirical data on how well Jadeja will captain. He has not captained much but this is how it is. But sometimes even great players do not make good captains. Harshly because there is no matrix. It doesn't mean if Virat has not won IPL, he is a bad captain. It just happens in T20 mode because it is spot luck," he added.