Much has been spoken and said about MS Dhoni’s form and future post the poor showing of Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2025. They were the first team to be ousted from playoff contention. Former West Indies player Darren Ganga questioned the decision to let Dhoni lead the team after Ruturaj Gaikwad was injured. Ganga expressed concerns, in a discussion on ESPNCricinfo, of the over-reliance on Dhoni and that there doesn’t seem to be a clear pathway for the future.
He said it is a danger to a team if you are relying on a player who is not playing regular cricket outside of the IPL. Doesn’t that put you at a disadvantage, depending on a player’s fitness for a whole season? You could find yourself looking for a new captain again, he said.
Ganga concurred Dhoni ought to be in the team on the basis of wicketkeeping and batting alone. I think he still can have a role in the squad, he said.
But was it still time for Dhoni to be captain after so many years? Ganga said it is a tricky situation when Dhoni, who still wants to captain, is juxtaposed with those such as Ruturaj Gaikwad and earlier, Ravindra Jadeja. That puts a lot of pressure on the players, because they know somebody behind them is still vying for that leadership role, he said, while stressing that it puts everybody concerned in a tough place.