5 players who have replaced MS Dhoni as Captain of a team

MS Dhoni is arguably the greatest captain in the history of the game. He has led India to triumphs in the T20 World Cup, ODI World Cup and the Champions Trophy. Under him, India also achieved the Number 1 ranking in Tests. He also won 5 IPL Titles and 2 CLT20 titles as the captain of the Chennai Super Kings.

If possible, every team would have liked for Dhoni to lead forever. However, unfortunately, life doesn’t work that way. As such, teams have had to replace Dhoni.

Here, we look at 5 players who have taken the reins of a team from the great man:

5. Suresh Raina

Suresh Raina, Dhoni's longtime teammate and deputy at CSK, occasionally captained the team when Dhoni was injured. Raina provided his leadership for a total of six IPL games. He was able to get a couple of wins for the side. While these were temporary stints, they showcased Raina's potential as a future leader, even though that never really happened. 

4. Virat Kohli

In 2014, Virat Kohli took over the reins of the Indian Test Team from MS Dhoni. Then in 2017, Kohli succeeded Dhoni as captain of the Indian Team across all formats. This marked a change of the guard in Indian cricket. Dhoni's era of calm leadership was succeeded by Kohli's aggressive and passionate approach. While both styles yielded success, Kohli's captaincy brought new energy to the team. Under Kohli, India achieved a lot of success, especially in Test Cricket, even though an ICC trophy eluded him.

3. Ravindra Jadeja

Ahead of the 2022 IPL season, MS Dhoni relinquished CSK’s captaincy, handing over the reins to Ravindra Jadeja. This move aimed to groom Jadeja for future leadership while Dhoni focused on his batting. However, the experiment proved unsuccessful. Jadeja struggled with the dual pressure of captaincy and on-field performance, unfortunately leading to a dip in both aspects. Dhoni eventually took back the captaincy.

2. Steven Smith

An interesting case arose ahead of IPL 2017 when Dhoni was removed as the captain of Rising Pune Supergiant. In the previous edition, RPS finished second from the bottom which led to the decision. Steve Smith, the Australian batsman, took over the captaincy. This was a surprising choice considering Dhoni's immense leadership stature.

The decision received a lot of criticism since the previous edition was the team’s first IPL season and it was always going to be challenging for anyone to produce immediate results with a new team. However, Smith, known for his tactical acumen, proved his mettle by leading RPS to the IPL final that season.

1. Ruturaj Gaikwad 

The most recent case is that of Ruturaj Gaikwad replacing MS Dhoni as the captain of the Chennai Super Kings, marking a significant shift for the franchise. The talented opener, known for his elegant strokeplay, has spent a few years with CSK and was always touted to be the next leader of the franchise. His calm demeanour which is similar to that of Dhoni must have played a role in his appointment. The fact that he is young would also have helped the decision-makers.

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