MS Dhoni wants to quit as CSK captain and India Cements vice-president; allegedly conveys his discontent to N Srinivasan

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (R) greets teammate Virat Kohli after winning the match against Bangladesh during the ICC World Twenty20 tournament at The Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka on March 28, 2014.

Fed up with his name being tarnished with every passing day, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, in a telephone conversation with N Srinivasan, has allegedly offered to quit from his roles as the captain of the Indian Premier League franchise Chennai Super Kings and as the vice-president of India Cements Limited, a Srinivasan-owned company, if reports from Times of India are to be believed.

Now that N Srinivasan has been ousted as the BCCI president by the Supreme Court and CSK nearly banned from being a part of IPL 7 as a result of its principal Gurunath Meiyappan’s involvement in the IPL betting case, the attention has shifted towards Dhoni and his alleged statement to the Mukul Mudgal committee that ‘Meiyappan had nothing to do with CSK’.

MS Dhoni’s name has been making the headlines for one reason or the other, mostly for the wrong reasons, in the past couple of years: be it India’s disastrous overseas tours or his defensive and unimaginative captaincy or the stunning Champions Trophy 2013 victory, or the IPL spot-fixing scandal. Considering all these, it would not be entirely surprising if he indeed decides to quit from the aforementioned roles.

One of TOI’s sources said: “As of now, it has not been accepted but the two parties are still in discussion and it may happen very soon.”

“Dhoni felt that the recent developments have spoilt his image. That is why he wants to quit from both the posts.”

The source added: “Dhoni is a huge brand and if he quits, CSK’s image will take a beating. The way he has led CSK for the last six years is phenomenal and it’s very difficult to replace him as captain. The India Cements management is trying its best to ensure that he stays.”

Correlating the news with the fact that the BCCI has mounted strong defence in favour of MS Dhoni in the Court today to clear him of all the unfair accusations on him by the media, it is difficult to rule out the possibility of such an incident having taken place.

Despite all these, Dhoni has successfully taken the Indian team to the semi-finals of the ongoing T20 World Cup in Bangladesh. With the spin duo of Amit Mishra and Ravichandran Ashwin running riot, the team looks good to go all the way. Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina are in top form, too. It is not all rosy, though, as Shikhar Dhawan and Yuvraj Singh have shown no signs of form and are struggling to put bat to ball.