The Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming used dark humor to describe the condition in the dressing room after MS Dhoni announced his decision to step down from captaincy ahead of IPL 2024.
Stephen Fleming’s Dark Humour on Dhoni’s Captaincy Call
Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming brought in some humor while talking about dressing rooms’ reaction to MS Dhoni’s captaincy switch.
The 27-year-old Ruturaj Gaikwad was named as the CSK captain for the upcoming IPL season. Dhoni made the shocking decision on the eve of the first match of the tournament.
Speaking at the press conference, Fleming was asked about the reaction when the news was announced. The CSK coach joked that everyone was crying before laughing it off.
“Yeah, there were tears everywhere. Everyone was crying, and it was. It was typically low-key, very low-key. And quickly to a bit of a celebration of Ruturaj and the opportunity. So the players embraced it,” said Fleming.
Unlike the captaincy change in the season 2022, this time the team was well prepared when it came to Dhoni’s call and also claimed that the players handled it well.
“Well, there’s always a little bit of shock around it. But going back to two years ago, we’re much more conditioned this time. And, the players handled it very well. Just as the captain, ex-captain handled it well and in announcing it to the team,” said Fleming.
The head coach said that it was Dhoni’s call to step down from the captaincy. “It was MS Dhoni’s call with a lot of consideration looking at the future. The timing was good.”
“It’ll be a grooming process for Ruturaj. We weren’t ready to move away from MS in 2022. Dhoni has a good sense of the game, but we want to develop the young players for the role. We are well prepared this time,” said Fleming.
Recently, Ruturaj Gaikwad revealed that MS Dhoni has indicated the captaincy switch on last year itself.
“Just hinted that, ‘be ready, it shouldn’t be a surprise to you’. When we came into the camp, obviously he made me involved in some of the practice match simulations.”
coming to the tournament, the first match will feature the clash between CSK and RCB kickstarting at 08:00 PM IST at M.A. Chidambaram Stadium.
