IPL 2024: MS Dhoni’s glorious captaincy run at CSK – from a Master to Thala

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, fondly known as MS Dhoni among cricket fans worldwide, has relinquished his IPL captaincy at Chennai Super Kings, handing over the baton to CSK opener Ruturaj Gaikwad a day before the start of the 17th edition in Chennai. Following an official announcement from the franchise, Dhoni’s glorious captaincy run in IPL has ended.

Chennai Super Kings picked MS Dhoni at the maiden IPL auction in 2008 for a million dollars, naming him the captain.

Dhoni’s IPL journey began with a bang, leading his team to the final against Rajasthan Royals in the maiden IPL final, which they lost. Chennai lost to RCB in the semis the next season in South Africa but returned stronger in 2010 when MS Dhoni-led CSK won its first IPL title.

Dhoni’s CSK were crowned champions the following year in 2011 - when he led India to their second 50-over World Cup at home.

Meanwhile, Chennai lost three finals in the next four seasons, going down to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2012 and against Mumbai Indians in 2013 and 2015. But what transpired after had put IPL’s credibility at stake, with CSK and RR facing two-year suspension on fixing charges.

Upon returning to the cash-rich league in 2018, Chennai won its third IPL title, beating SunRisers Hyderabad in the final. Chennai suffered a crushing fate in the 2019 final, losing to Mumbai Indians by just one run. In the following season, Chennai was seventh on the points table – their worst in the tournament history.

However, in 2021, under MS Dhoni, CSK beat KKR in the final to become IPL champions for the fourth time. 2022 was another low chapter in CSK’s glorious history, finishing ninth, just above Mumbai Indians.

2023, which now happened to be MS Dhoni’s last season as CSK’s captain, saw his team beat Gujarat Titans to lift the trophy for the record fifth time, joint most (with MI) in IPL history.

MS Dhoni’s IPL numbers –

In 250 IPL matches, MS Dhoni has scored 5082 runs at 39.09 with a strike rate of 135.96. Dhoni has scored 24 fifties in the IPL, with the highest score of 84*.

Dhoni’s best season with the bat in hand was in 2013, when he scored 461 runs in 18 matches at 162.89 (strike rate), smashing 32 fours and 25 sixes. However, he slammed the most number of sixes in 2018, wherein he hit 30 biggies in addition to scoring 455 runs in 16 outings.

Regarding his fielding stats in the IPL, MS Dhoni has picked 142 catches and affected 42 stumpings thus far.

While Dhoni has handed over the IPL captaincy to Gaikwad ahead of IPL 2024, he will continue to play as a batter.