“MS is the best judge and he felt the time was right,” Stephen Fleming on CSK captain change
“MS is the best judge and he felt the time was right,” Stephen Fleming on CSK captain change MS Dhoni’s decision to step down from the helm at Chennai Super Kings has come as a huge surprise. There have been a lot of questions around his decision to hand over the captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad, just a day before IPL 2024 commences in Chennai. CSK Head Coach, Stephen Fleming has cleared the air surrounding the former Indian captain’s decision. The Kiwi coach has clarified that it was MS Dhoni’s decision to step aside from captaincy, in view of building a clear path for the future. “It was MS [Dhoni’s decision] with a lot of consideration and one view to the future on the back of a good season last year. The timing was good. Behind the scenes, Ruturaj and others have been on a, say, a captaincy-grooming process, looking forward to days like this and the opportunities come up, but MS is the best judge and he felt the time was right,” Fleming said, as quoted by CricInfo. This is for the second time in the last three seasons that Chennai Super Kings have named a new skipper just on the eve of IPL. In 2022, Ravindra Jadeja was handed over the captaincy, after MS Dhoni decided to step down. However, the change did not last long, as Dhoni was back in charge after Chennai suffered six losses in their first eight matches. “A couple of years ago we probably weren’t ready for MS to move aside” : Stephen Fleming Stephen Fleming acknowledged the fact that in 2022, the franchise was not ready for MS Dhoni to step aside from captaincy. Now that the ‘Men in Yellow’ claimed their fifth title last year, and with the mega auction coming up next season, the franchise is better placed to handle such a big change at the helm. “Well, the big thing about a couple of years ago was that we probably weren’t ready for MS to move aside. And what that did was probably shake us as a leadership group or coaches into looking at the possibility when he does go. And up until that stage, it was almost unthinkable, but it sowed the seed. So, we’ve worked pretty hard on making sure that any mistakes that were made during then aren’t made again. And that the leadership isn’t a secret,” Fleming added. Stephen Fleming has also confirmed that there would be ongoing mentorship on field from MS Dhoni. Moreover, the senior players in the team in the form of Ajinkya Rahane and Ravindra Jadeja will help Ruturaj Gaikwad ease into his new role. Chennai Super Kings kickstart their title defence against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Chepauk Stadium on March 22nd. The five-time champions are one of the strongest teams on paper, as they made some valuable additions to their squad in the auction. Shardul Thakur would return to his former franchise, whereas, the likes of Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell will provide options in the batting order. Also Read: IPL 2024: Chennai Super Kings Squad and Predicted XI