Aakash Chopra asks MS Dhoni to retire before playing as Impact Player in IPL. Image Credit: X
According to former Indian cricket player Aakash Chopra, MS Dhoni cannot play as an ‘Impact Player’ and should “hang up his boots” if he does.
The question of whether this would be Dhoni’s final season wearing CSK’s recognisable yellow colours is a hot topic for the forthcoming Indian Premier League (IPL), as it has been with every season over the past few years. The negotiations have only gotten more intense now that Ruturaj Gaikwad has been leading the squad for a time, with many young players and wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson moving from Rajasthan Royals to the five-time champions.
Given his ongoing knee problems, there has long been conjecture that this season may be Dhoni’s final one. At the ‘ROAR 26’ fan event at Chepauk stadium, Dhoni even admitted that his level of fitness was dropping, stating that “it is on the way down”. In order to protect his body and amuse the “Thala Kingdom,” he has shifted to the lower middle order and unleashed some massive hits during the death overs phase due to his age, knee problems, and lack of fitness.
Speaking on JioStar, Aakash noted Dhoni’s greatest talents as game-reading, clarity, and conviction. The former cricketer stated that one cannot control the team from a dugout, as is the case with football managers. Additionally, he stated that since his “heir apparent” is now at CSK, this may be his final season and that he should hang up his boots rather than continue to play as an impact player.
“You do not run the team from the dugout, it’s not football. In cricket, you need to be on the field, and MS Dhoni’s biggest asset is his ability to read the game better than anybody else. That clarity and conviction are what make him who he is. In any case, I feel this could be his last season. He has the heir apparent now. Sanju Samson will eventually don the gloves it could even happen at some stage during this season. Again, conditions apply in terms of MS Dhoni’s fitness and his knee. But he cannot be the Impact Player. If he is playing as an Impact Player, I think it’s time for him to hang up his boots,” said Aakash.
In 278 matches, Dhoni has made 5,439 runs in 242 innings at an average of 38.30 and a strike rate of 137.45, including 24 fifties and a best score of 84*. He is the sixth-highest run-getter in the tournament history.
Aakash also reckoned that Dhoni might not be the “unofficial captain’ of CSK now and has taken the backseat, taking in account the number of youngsters in the squad. Amid a poor season last year, CSK included several youngsters in the team, with Dewald Brevis, Ayush Mhatre, and Urvil Patel injecting some six-hitting and fearlessness in the squad last year.
For this year, CSK has taken more steps to shed the ‘Daddy’s Army’ tag, which they got due to an ageing squad a few years back, bringing in names like Nathan Ellis, Sarfaraz Khan and splashing big bucks on young domestic stars Kartik Sharma and Prashant Veer (Rs 14.20 crores each), with the latter being touted as Ravindra Jadeja’s replacement, with the veteran being traded to RR.
“There is a small analogy. If you want your baby to start walking, you need to hold their hand and teach them. But if you want them to run, you need to let go. If you keep holding on, they will never learn to run. From Dhoni’s point of view, if somebody has been anointed as the next Captain, then he has to take a backseat, and I think he already has,” he said.
“If you look at the auction and the way the team has been built, it is not the team MS Dhoni would have built if it were left entirely to him. Would he go with these many youngsters in one go? This is Ruturaj Gaikwad’s team. MS Dhoni will observe things and not say much. He might offer advice here and there, but that’s where it stops. He did that well with Virat Kohli at the international level as well, allowing them to grow and prosper. And if they seek help, he is always there,” he signed off.
(With Agency Inputs)
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