TATA IPL 2023: Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the man who has carried the CSK team forward since the first season of the Indian Premier League.
Mahi is the only skipper who has led the Chennai Super Kings franchise since 2008 and he has been the second most IPL Title winner after Rohit Sharma. Hit Man has won five trophies while MSD has won four of them.
In the last season, TATA IPL 2022, the responsibility of leading the Chennai Super Kings team was given to Ravindra Jadeja.
However, that didn't work and Mahi was re-appointed as the skipper of that team. But CSK had a poor season even when MS Dhoni took the captaincy back from Jaddu.
So this time, the Yellow Army will look to make things right in Dhoni’s last season. The CSK fans will want their team to give a winning farewell to their inspirational leader and they should aim to win their 5 trophies under Mahi.
Today we shall list out the players who can fill in the big shoes of MS Dhoni as the skipper of the Chennai Super Kings team.
One player from the England Cricket Team is a front-runner to fill this position and many experts think that the CSK franchise has brought him as a future skipper and replacement for Dhoni.
The current captain of the England Test side has been simply prenominal in leading his side in the red ball games. The star all-rounder is pure captaincy material.
Ben Stokes has been unbeaten in Test matches so far and now he is the front-runner to fill the big shoes of Mahi Bhai in the CSK franchise.
Stokes was brought for a whopping price of 16.25 crores so that he can be the succour for MSD for the future seasons of the IPL.
If the Chennai Super Kings franchise is looking to invest in an Indian cricketer, then Ruturaj Gaikwad can be a good choice. Gaikwad is a talented opening batter who has played for India as well.
He has amassed good number of runs in the domestic circuit as well. The Pune-born batter has a calm approach like his leader MS Dhoni and the Yellow Army franchise should invest for the future that could help the Indian cricket team as well.
The man who led the Indian team to win the Border Gavaskar Trophy in 2021 was Ajinkya Rahane. He was also the vice-captain of the Indian team when Virat Kohli captained the side.
But now he has lost his spot in the Test team and he wasn’t named in the BCCI Central Contract List either.
Rahane can be an interesting choice as a skipper because he has the ability to deliver in a crunch situation as he did in Australia on that previous tour.
India was bundled out for just 36 runs in that Pink Ball Test match at Adelaide Oval. It was pure captaincy material from Rahane which led India to win that series for the second back-to-back time.
Ajinkya slammed a century in the second Test match which set the tone for this win and India also won the Test match at The Gabba when Kohli, Bumrah, Ashwin, Shami and Jadeja weren’t there in the team.
Rahane can bring a sense of calmness to the CSK side which is why CSK should consider him for this leadership role.
Ambati has been a senior player of the CSK side after MS Dhoni and Rayudu has played for many franchise teams in the past so he has a bulk of the experience. Ambati was also the part of Indian Team.
But he announced his retirement after he wasn’t picked for the 2019 fifty overs world cup in England.
CSK can have a flexible approach to their batting lineup because Ambati can bat as an opener or in the middle order.
He can also be the future wicketkeeper for the Yellow Army after MS Dhoni.
The spin-bowling all-rounder of the England side is a valuable player for the CSK team. Moeen Ali can be destructive at the number three batting position.
Ali played a crucial role when CSK won their fourth IPL Title in 2021. CSK can opt him as their next captain of their franchise team because the all-rounders are always in demand and they have the knack to turn the match in their favour.
