Moeen Ali's smashing response ends discussion on Ben Stokes being MS Dhoni's successor for CSK captaincy

Although there has been no clear indication or statement from CSK, Moeen Ali came up with a smashing response to end the discussion around it.

When England Test captain Ben Stokes was roped in for INR 16.25 crore at December's mini-auction for IPL 2023 season by Chennai Super Kings (CSK), it sparked a discussion whether it was a move from MS Dhoni to pick his successor. The Ravindra Jadeja act had turned out to be a failure last season for CSK, but the franchise had now picked an experienced candidate who could possibly replace Dhoni, now 41. And although there has been no clear indication or statement from the franchise yet, Moeen Ali came up with a smashing response to end the discussion around it.

Moeen Ali; Ben Stokes with MS Dhoni

England's Test team has made a stunning run under Stokes' captaincy, winning 10 of their 12 matches in the last one year. Moeen believes that that impressive record does make Stokes a strong candidate to replace Dhoni, but hinted that the move might not come yet.

"He's really enjoying himself," Moeen said of Stokes on the eve of CSK's match against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede. "CSK is the type of franchise where you come here and you do tend to enjoy yourself and really love playing for this franchise. He's settled in really well. He's a big part of the team with his experience."

When further asked whether the England Test captain is part of CSK's leadership group, Moeen added: "There's no real such leadership group: you have the captain and the coaches, and they talk. If Dhoni wants Ben Stokes' advice, or a chat with him, it's a very open environment in that changing room."

The England star however hinted that despite presence of Stokes, or other options in Ruturaj Gaikwad, Dhoni is likely to continue his run as CSK captain.

"I think there's a chance [that Stokes succeeds Dhoni]; of course there's a chance, because he's obviously done really well in Test cricket," Moeen said. "But MS is still obviously in charge and he's going to be captain for a while. We have some other guys as well: Ruturaj is a fantastic player with a good head on his shoulders, so it depends on what the franchise wants."

Stokes so far has had an underwhelming start to his CSK campaign, scoring just 15 runs in two innings, while also bowling an over amid his knee injury concern.