The word ‘captain’ won’t be associated with talismanic MS Dhoni for the first time in Chennai Super Kings’ IPL juggernaut. He played a game under Suresh Raina in a dead Champions League T20 rubber against Yorkshire but ‘Thala’ and Dhoni go hand in hand for the Chennai crowd. Dhoni, 40, stepped down from the role just two days before CSK’s opening game against KKR. Twelve seasons, four titles and five runner-up finishes later, Dhoni decided to hand over the baton to all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.
Jadeja was CSK’s number one retention before the auction ahead of Dhoni, Moeen Ali and Ruturaj Gaikwad. He has a tough task at hand but the team’s batting coach, Michael Hussey, believes the new captain will excel in the new role with Dhoni being present on the field as a guiding force.
“It’s amazing. We all knew it was going to happen at some stage. For Jaddu, it would be very good to have MS there, just to help him in his first year as captain. Just to guide him and give some advice along the way. It’s going to be exciting for Jaddu as well.
“He’s been with this team for a long time. He’s excited about the opportunity and I am sure he will do a very good job. The good thing is that he is going to have some excellent people with a lot of experience around him to help along the way,” Hussey said on CSK’s official YouTube channel.
Hussey also spoke about their opening game against Kolkata and singled out big-hitting all-rounder Andre Russell. The two sides will kick-start the 15th edition of the lucrative T20 league and Chennai have got an impressive head-to-head record. Across 28 games, Chennai have registered wins on 18 occasions with Kolkata managing to win just nine matches.
“KKR have got some world-class players, some great spinners in there. They have got the dangerous Andre Russell, they have got some great Indian batsmen as well. So, it is going to be a tough match. But all the games are going to be tough. We just have to make sure that our game is in good working order and hopefully we can execute our skills very well on the day.”
Hussey further shed light on their opening combination after Faf du Plessis’ exit. Ruturaj Gaikwad, the Orange Cap winner of the previous edition, will be seen opening with New Zealand’s Devon Conway, who is set to make his IPL debut in the tournament opener.
“Looking forward to watching Devon Conway in action. His first time in India, first time at the IPL. He’s very excited and looks like a fantastic young player. Hoping that he can have a great season and forge a partnership with Rutu (Ruturaj Gaikwad) at the top,” Hussey further said.