Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach Stephen Fleming has revealed the scenes inside the dressing room when MS Dhoni broke the news of him stepping down as the skipper of the franchise ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.
MS Dhoni has relinquished the CSK captaincy after leading the franchise since the inaugural edition of the tournament. He had an enormously successful stint as the skipper of the Chennai-based franchise.
Dhoni developed a unique team culture and under his leadership, he groomed several players, who went on to achieve big things in cricket. Many out-of-form players joined CSK after failing miserably in different teams and suddenly they brought out their best performance for the MS Dhoni-led side.
Overall, MS Dhoni won 5 IPL trophies as captain which is the joint-most in the history of the league as Rohit Sharma has also won the same number of championships as skipper. He led CSK in 226 matches and won 133 games while losing 91.
Meanwhile, MS Dhoni has decided to hand over the CSK captaincy to star opening batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad, who has easily been the top performer for the franchise in the batting department since 2021.
A whole lot of tears, There wasn’t a dry eye in the dressing room – Stephen Fleming on MS Dhoni’s captaincy exit
At a pre-match press conference, the former New Zealand National Cricket Team captain and the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach revealed the scenes inside the dressing room when Dhoni broke the news.
According to Fleming, the players badly cried and not a single person had dry eyes. He also revealed that the players quickly got themselves together and congratulated the newly-appointed captain Ruturaj Gaikwad.
“(When Dhoni broke the news) there was a lot of emotions. A whole lot of tears. There wasn’t a dry eye in the dressing room. Everyone was moved. Last time (when CSK changed the captain) we weren’t as prepared for MS to move and for a change in leadership.
“There was also a round of congratulations to Ruturaj. He isn’t the most vocal person, but he has qualities to lead us in the right direction,” said Fleming.
Before Ruturaj Gaikwad, MS Dhoni tried handing the captaincy to Ravindra Jadeja in IPL 2022. The move by CSK was a huge failure as the all-rounder didn’t lead the side well and his performance with bat and ball also took a massive hit due to which Dhoni took over as leader again.
Talking about Jadeja, Stephen Fleming said that the all-rounder is a key player of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and he will stand beside Gaikwad as he is also a part of the leadership group.
“He [Jadeja] is right beside Rutu, there’s no doubt about it,” Fleming said. “If you saw last year, the contribution Jadeja had… the last two balls will go down in CSK folklore. He was instrumental in us winning the cup and he’s been a strong player for us year after year, whether he’s got the stripes on his sleeve or not. He’s still a natural leader. He’s not outspoken, he’s not verbally loud or assertive but his actions in the way he plays will be a strong component of our leadership and he’ll be someone Ruturaj will use, without a doubt.”
