Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
A day after Mahendra Singh Dhoni stepped down from the captaincy of Chennai Super Kings, reports doing rounds on the internet claim that the legendary skipper told the management that he is 40 years old and cannot continue leading the side forever. Notably, MS Dhoni stepped down as the skipper of CSK on March 24, passing on the baton to all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.
However, the report published by Cricbuzz claimed that CSK CEO Kasi Vishwanathan was taken aback as Dhoni conveyed to him about his decision on call and assured him that he would guide Jadeja in the role.
A source close to management further informed that there was a call from the CSK team hotel in Mumbai to the Chennai office of Srinivasan with a request that Dhoni would want to speak to him. Srinivasan was busy at that time. The return call came around noon, and Dhoni revealed his decision.
"No one ever questions Dhoni in the CSK management. Kasi has often cleared that Dhoni is CSK and CSK is Dhoni," read a part of the report. The report also quoted a source claiming that there was never a discussion about Dhoni's decision, and everyone followed him blindly. As per the report, CSK CEO finally asked Dhoni if he would continue as a player for the season or not, to which Dhoni responded by reiterating that he will play his last game in Chennai but is available for one or two seasons.
CSK insiders also added that Dhoni had assured the management that he would groom Jadeja and back him until he feels Jaddu was ready for the job. "The management always backed him; why will it not back him now," quoted a franchise insider." They also confirmed that discussion at the coaching level was already going on, and management kept a close eye on India vs Sri Lanka series, where Jadeja performed exceptionally well.
