Chennai Super Kings have built their entire brand around Mahendra Singh Dhoni. He is the adopted son of Tamil Nadu. CSK have had just two captains in the course of IPL. Suresh Raina captained in a couple of games in Dhoni’s absence. Apart from that, there has been just one leader for CSK and that leader has been MS Dhoni. He is the one who calls the shots in the CSK camp. But come IPL 2022 mega auctions, CSK might need to look beyond MS Dhoni. Here are some intresting captaincy choices for CSK.
StumpsandBails presents 5 interesting captaincy choices for CSK to pick from the mega auction:
#5 Manish Pandey
Manish Pandey has quality IPL experience. He was the first Indian to score an IPL century in 2009. Pandey flourished in KKR from 2014-17. He was the player of the final in 2014. His big match prowess came to the fore since then. He was constantly amongst the runs for SRH too since joining them in 2018. But the questions about his strike rate have dented his reputation. Pandey will be keen to zip his critics up and what better platform than playing for CSK. He has won many titles for Karnataka leading them in domestic competitions. Pandey might be one of the dark horses for taking up the mantle of captaining CSK.
#4 Jason Holder
Jason Holder is one of the most understated captains. He fits the bill of a CSK player beautifully. Holder is an asset with all three dimensions of the game. He will be a sure starter in the XI. The fact that he lets his players express themselves freely sets him apart from other captains. Holder is the quintessential CSK captaincy candidate.
#3 Ishan Kishan
Ishan Kishan has had a disappointing IPL 2021. This might just force MI to release him ahead of the mega auctions next year. MI releasing Kishan might just prove to be a blessing in disguise for him. As other teams will be gunning for him real hard. Kishan has captained the India U-19 and led them to the finals in 2016. He being a wicketkeeper-batsman brings in an eerie similarity with legendary CSK skipper, MS Dhoni. They both hail from Jharkhand.
#2 David Warner
IPL 2021 and SRH haven’t been kind to David Warner. SRH stripped him off captaincy duties after a slow start to the campaign. Warner is hungry to prove his worth to the world. He dearly loves IPL and Indian fans. CSK owes much of its success to the undivided support of its fans. They will love to have a passionate leader like Warner at the helm. A captain who has a point to prove and a team looking for a new leader. This could be a match made in heaven.
#1 Prithvi Shaw
Prithvi Shaw in IPL 2022 could do to CSK what MS Dhoni did to them back in 2008. Shaw is a potential superstar much like Dhoni was back then. Dhoni had led India to T20 World Cup in 2007 while Shaw has led India to a U-19 World Cup win in 2018. Shaw has had a stellar 2021. He smashed 800+ runs in 8 games in Vijay Hazare Trophy. Shaw was unstoppable in IPL 2021. DC might not be able to retain Shaw owing to the choices they have had at their disposal. This might help CSK bargain Shaw in the auction. If they manage to acquire him then he could be their natural captaincy choice.
Also read: IPL: Team-wise One Expensive Player Who Might Be Released Ahead Of The Mega Auctions
