Explained: What future holds for Chennai Super Kings after Dhoni? Who will take forward his legacy?

Indian cricket has had many heroes, champions, demigods —someone like Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Anil Kumble among others;and then comes MS Dhoni. One name that had a generation growing up fall for his wonders, his persona and what not. Other than being the most successful Indian captain having won three different ICC trophies – T20 World Cup, 50-over World Cup and the Champions Trophy — and being the only captain ever to do so, Dhoni also tasted tremendous success as the leader of the pack at Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as well.

To begin with, it’s fair to say the introduction of the IPL to the world changed the way how cricket is looked up to and played today. The commencement of the now second-richest league in the world in terms of value across all sports paved a new path for the shortest format to thrive and succeed. Chennai Super Kings, also globally known as CSK, is led by MS Dhoni from season 1 and up until the 16th edition of the IPL that begins on March 31this year, this franchise happens to start as out-right favourites for the nth time.

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Be it for the biggest or perhaps the loudest fan base in franchise cricket in this country, or for its history that literally gets richer with each passing season, Chennai Super Kings know how to make the most of the moment. Talking of living in the moment, who is better in doing it than the man himself, MS Dhoni. Having captained more than hundreds of players since 2008, Dhoni’s CSK has the privilege of being called the best IPL team in the tournament’s history. And why wouldn’t it be!

CSK, barring the two seasons when get got banned in the spot-fixing episode alongside Rajasthan Royals, have made it to the playoffs on 11 occasions in addition to reaching the finals on record nine times – the most by any team in IPL history. Not only this, they also have the highest win percentage of matches among all IPL teams.

In the inaugural season, they made it to the finals without a star-studded squad in comparison to others, where they lost to Rajasthan Royals. Come 2010, they won their maidenIPL trophy alongside winning the now-scrapped Champions League title the same year. Team Yellow then tasted success the next year as well before going down in the summit clash on several occasions in the following seasons.

Upon making a superlative return to the Indian Premier League following the ban, Chennai Super Kings again lifted the trophy in 2018 and achieved the same feat three years later in 2021. To put all of this in perspective, CSK claimed all these laurels under one captain only – MS Dhoni. The ageing MS held the fortress and didn’t let it fall despite numerous obstacles every year. No wonder he is regarded as the greatest captain ever – let alone for his IPL franchise or for the Indian team.

So, the question here arises that who takes over the reins when MS says goodbye to IPL?

Looking at the Chennai Super Kings’ current setup, we might take a look at the few options. While CSK tried Ravindra Jadeja as the captain for the early half of last year’s IPL, he couldn’t deliver – more so, his performance was getting affected by the burden of captaincy, as MS Dhoni had said before renouncing captaincyhimself for the remainder of the season.

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However, for the IPL upcoming season as well, which in hindsight is looking like MS Dhoni’s final season as a CSK player, someone has to be bestowed upon with the responsibility of not only leading this franchise but also carrying forward Dhoni’s legacy.

So, what are the options?

The easiest go-to-option is none other than CSK’s latest and the most-expensive recruit ever (INR 16.25 crores), England’s Ben Stokes. The English Test captain has had super success since taking over the leadership hat from Joe Root in the longest format. Given his credentials as an all-format batter and considering he hasplayed alongside MS Dhoni in the past – in Rising Pune Supergiant, Dhoni along with the management could be tempted to hand over the captaincy to him. Now with Stokes lately announcing that he wouldbe leaving the IPL 2023 a bit early in order to get ready in time for the long home summer, the CSK management could pick someone else, looking at the long-term option.

So then, who’s next? Ideal answer is Ruturaj Gaikwad

The Tami Nadu opener won IPL 2021 with CSK and is one of their most dependable batters at the top of the order. With age on his side, and having the experience of rubbing shoulders with the biggies in Chennai’s dressing room, Ruturaj looks like theperfect fit. Although all will depend on MS and the management and how and who they approach for the same role.