Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are gearing up for the upcoming IPL 2024 edition, which kicks off with the defending champions taking on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on March 22 in Chennai.
Ahead of the season-opener, CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan revealed that there have been ‘internal talks’ done regarding a succession plan if the forthcoming season turns out to be the last for Dhoni. Further, he also revealed owner N Srinivasan’s message when it comes to deciding Dhoni’s successor.
‘Let’s not talk about captain and vice-captain appointments’
Talking to former CSK batter S Badrinath on his YouTube channel, Viswanathan said, “See, there have been internal talks. But, Mr. Srinivasan has made it very clear. Let’s not talk about captain and vice-captain appointments. Let’s leave it to the coach and the captain to decide. Let them decide and convey the information to me, and then I will convey it to you all. He has said that ‘the captain and the coach will decide and give us a directive, till then let’s all keep quiet’.”
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Last year, Dhoni led CSK to their fifth IPL championship with a knee injury. While he came down the order as a power-hitter and remained handy behind the stumps as well as a leader, there were concerns over his fitness. Many believed he would retire after the IPL 2023 title win, however, he revealed he would try to play another season as a gift to his fans. With him returning this year, IPL 2024 might well be his last season. Thus, CSK would need a successor. All eyes will be on how Chennai perform and who Dhoni would identify as his potential successor.
Viswanathan also opined that the Men in Yellow are hopeful of another strong showing in IPL 2024. He, however, was quick to point out that Dhoni has told the troops to focus on the league stage at present. “We have always focused on qualifying for the knockouts. That’s our first aim. After that, it depends on the performance on that day. We are following that even now. Before every season, MS Dhoni tells us ‘first let us concentrate on league games. We will look to qualify for the knockouts. Yes, the pressure is there. But over the years, because of our consistency, most of the players are used to this pressure,” he added.
CSK squad for IPL 2024: MS Dhoni, Devon Conway, Avanish Rao Aravelly, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shaik Rasheed, Ajinkya Rahane, Sameer Rizvi, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mitchell Santner, Ajay Mandal, Nishant Sindhu, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Matheesha Pathirana, Simarjeet Singh, Prashant Solanki, Maheesh Theekshana, Mustafizur Rahman, Mukesh Choudhary.