NEW DELHI: The highly anticipated season-opener of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 witnessed Chennai Super Kings (CSK) locking horns with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Chennai on Friday.
Amid the fervour surrounding the mega clash, former RCB stalwart
AB de Villiers
didn't mince words when commenting on MS Dhoni's decision to relinquish his captaincy in favour of
Ruturaj Gaikwad
before the opening game.
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"I think it's a huge mistake. To me, MS Dhoni is five guys in the team as captain. Will that work together? I am not sure. We will have to wait and see. I do think it's a mistake. What happened last time is similar. I feel CSK's all about MS Dhoni's leadership. And his captaincy will be a mistake," remarked de Villiers during his stint as a cricket analyst on JioCinema.
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Commenting on the change in captaincy, Gaikwad revealed, "Last year itself, Mahi bhai had hinted about captaincy at some point of time. He just hinted that, 'be ready, it shouldn't be a surprise to you'. When we came into the camp, he involved me in some of the match simulation."
Despite Gaikwad starting on a sour note by losing the toss, the newly-appointed CSK skipper remained confident. "Feel privileged. But I want to try and be in my shoes, not fill anybody's shoes. (On captaincy) I got to know last week, but Mahi bhai hinted at it last year," Gaikwad expressed during the toss.
With the CSK fans anticipating glory in a fresh season under the new leadership, Gaikwad's past success, including leading the men's Indian side to gold in the Hangzhou Asian Games, adds weight to their hopes for what could be a successful campaign for the men in yellow.
English (US) ·