Have always respected decisions taken by MS, says CSK CEO Viswanathan on Dhoni’s future

Chennai: K.S. Viswanathan, the CEO of Chennai Super Kings (CSK), said they have always respected the decisions taken by the legendary MS Dhoni and that the decision on his future in the franchise has been left to him, which they expect will come at an appropriate time.

The future of Dhoni, 42, as a CSK player has been a topic of immense speculation after CSK failed to enter the IPL 2024 playoffs following a 27-run loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru in its must-win final league match, to finish in fifth place in the points table.

“I do not know. It is a question only MS (Dhoni) can answer. We have always respected the decisions taken by MS. We have left it to him and as all of you know he has always taken his decisions and announced them at the appropriate time,” the CSK boss said.

“We do expect that we will get a decision as and when he decides. But we are very hopeful he’ll be available for CSK next year. That is the view and expectation of the fans and mine,” said Viswanathan in a video posted by the franchise on YouTube.

He also felt CSK’s long-serving head coach, former New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming, won’t apply for the India men’s head coach job, whose deadline for applications is May 27. “Actually I got a lot of calls from the Indian journalists inquiring whether he is interested in taking a job with the Indian team.”

“So I jokingly asked him, ‘Have you applied for the Indian coaching assignment?’ And Stephen just laughed and said, ‘Do you want me to?’ I know that it’s not going to be his cup of tea because he doesn’t like to be involved for nine to 10 months in a year. That’s my feeling. I have not discussed anything more with him,” he added.

Just ahead of the IPL 2024 season, Dhoni handed over the leadership duties to opener Ruturaj Gaikwad, surprising many onlookers. Viswanathan revealed how the CSK management had discussed the leadership handover from Dhoni to Gaikwad.

“The discussions we had with the team management from before a couple of years ago when Ruturaj came into the CSK and started performing well, we felt that he would be a good choice to captain the side. Both Flem (Fleming) and MS (Dhoni) had long discussions with him, they had plans to make him as a future captain.”

“His performances, and also the way he approached the game, and his thoughts whenever he spoke with MS as well as Fleming… both of them felt that he’ll be a good captain at CSK. And we were not disappointed; he led the side comfortably. The seniors also helped him. It has not affected his performance with the bat. He has continued to be a very consistent performer,” he noted. IANS

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