EXCLUSIVO: ‘Se MS Dhoni estiver jogando, ele deve ser o capitão do CSK na IPL’, diz Subramaniam Badrinath

Former India and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) all-rounder Subramaniam Badrinath has thrown his weight behind MS Dhoni continuing to lead the franchise as long as he plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL). In an exclusive chat with Insidesport, Badrinath expressed his belief that Dhoni’s presence on the field is irreplaceable and that he should remain at the helm, even if he’s playing a reduced role.

Should MS Dhoni be CSK’s skipper again?

Dhoni, who has been a cornerstone of CSK’s success, relinquished the captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad ahead of the IPL 2024 season. In fact it was on the eve of the commencement of IPL 2024. While he played as a player, Dhoni seemed to be grooming Gaikwad for the captaincy role, perhaps with an eye on the future. Dhoni himself had a superb campaign purely as a batter, smashing 161 runs at a immense strike rate of 220.55.

Badrinath, who played under Dhoni’s leadership for six seasons and won two IPL titles, believes that Dhoni’s experience and leadership qualities are invaluable. “If MS Dhoni is playing, until he is playing, he should lead (CSK). That’s my opinion,” Badrinath said exclusively to Insidesport. “Whoever you put as captain, when MS Dhoni is there, it’s impossible to see anybody else as a captain.”

The former India batter argued that grooming a captain while Dhoni is still on the field might not be the most effective approach. “Because nobody can be MS Dhoni. So my suggestion is that if Dhoni plays, I want him to lead. Because I don’t think you can be on the field and still groom a captain. I don’t know it will work or not. It might or might not but as long as MS Dhoni is playing, I would like him to lead CSK,” Badrinath added.

Every year, the uncertainty around MS Dhoni’s IPL future comes to the fore. Whether he will retire? Will he continue to enthrall his immense fandom? This uncertainty goes to another height, especially when there’s an IPL mega auction. Similarly, will Dhoni play in the IPL 2025 is a massive debate. However, will he captain CSK again should not be a captain as the management has heavily invested in Gaikwad, who also leads Maharashtra in domestic setup.