CSK Players Need To Support MS Dhoni, Graeme Smith Says

Chennai Super Kings announce the return of MS Dhoni as their captain following Ravindra Jadeja’s decision to step down from his one-month captaincy. This return is expected to bring the team back from their slump this season.

Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2022

IPL fans are well aware of CSK's poor performance this season, despite their strong track record and the quality of their players. They had eight wins but managed to only win two matches.

Some believed that their poor performance was caused by the poor choices made during the mega auction. CSK released Faf du Plessis and did not re-sign him, despite the fact that du Plessis was contributing to CSK's strength last season by providing an opening combination with Ruturaj Gaikwad. Du Plessis ended up with the Royal Challengers Bangalore this season, who are now sitting in fifth place, while CSK is in ninth place.

Chennai had the option to acquire Shahrukh Khan, Washington Sundar, T. Natarajan, Dinesh Karthik, and Sai Sudharsan, but the team chose not to take them in.

Jadeja stepping down, Dhoni returning

While the team was preparing for the 46th match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Jadeja decided to step down from his captaincy and handed the team back to Dhoni. Before the 2022 IPL began, Jadeja was appointed as the new captain of the team.

It was indeed a tough month for the all-rounder. Jadeja was carrying the burden of being a captain, and his team could not give a great performance on the field. Jadeja was not ready for the demand that he had to face as a captain, as Dhoni said that the tasks "affected his mind".

As Jadeja stepped down from the captaincy, Chennai reinstated Dhoni once again following the 46th match on Sunday. The decision to reassign Dhoni as the team’s captain resulted in a 13-run win over SRH.

Dhoni’s return as a skipper brings hope to the team. Former CSK player himself Harbhajan Singh said, "Chennai Super Kings has the power. This team is good at making comebacks." However, Dhoni still needs a lot of support from the rest of the team.

In addition, former South African cricket player, Graeme Smith, said that Super Kings players need to step up for Dhoni in order to make a great comeback in the future.

"MS Dhoni’s got experience, he knows how to read the moments. But the problem is, he needs his Chennai Super Kings teammates also to step up.  That’s been the challenge for them throughout this season," he said.

CSK vs SRH

CSK was able to register another win against the Sunrisers Hyderabad during Sunday’s match at MCA Stadium, Pune. The team won by 13 runs, with Gaikwad as the Man of the Match. Gaikwad finished the match with a record of 99 off 57 balls.

Apart from Gaikwad, Devon Conway also contributed to the team’s win as he got 202/2 and returned unbeaten on 85.

SRH, on the other hand, got a good start with Abhishek Sharma and Kane Williamson as their openers. Nicholas Pooran also scored an unbeaten 64 off 33 balls. However, Sharma was dismissed for 39 and Rahul Tripathi got a golden duck.