MS Dhoni steps down as CSK captain ahead of IPL 2022; Ravindra Jadeja to lead

MS Dhoni has stepped down as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain with immediate effect, a release from the franchise read on Thursday.

Ravindra Jadeja has been named the new CSK captain for IPL 2022, with the all-rounder set to lead CSK from their first match of the season against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on 26th March in Mumbai.

Although Dhoni's skills with the bat have been on the wane in recent years, his decision to relinquish the captaincy comes as a rude shock to the cricketing fraternity, and he will go down in history as one of IPL's best captains.

MS Dhoni led CSK to 4 IPL titles

Dhoni is one of the IPL's most decorated captains, with the franchise having lifted four trophies under his leadership, once each in 2010, 2011, 2018 and most recently in 2021. Apart from four titles in the IPL, CSK also won two Champions League T20 titles under Dhoni, first in the inaugural edition back in 2010 and then in 2014.

The 40-year-old is also the only captain in IPL history to have led a franchise in over 200 matches, with Dhoni boasting of 59.60% win record as CSK captain. In 204 matches he led the side, CSK won 121 of them, further highlighting Dhoni's credentials as one of the tournament's most successful captains.

Interestingly, ahead of the IPL 2022 Auction, MS Dhoni was the second-choice retention made by CSK, with Jadeja picked as the first player for ₹15 Crore.

Ravindra Jadeja will be CSK's third captain

An integral part of CSK's success over the years, Jadeja will take over the captaincy duties from Dhoni and will only be the franchise's third captain in 13 editions of the IPL [CSK were banned for two years].

Suresh Raina has led CSK in the past, once even during a CLT20 match where Dhoni played as non-captain. Notably, this will be Jadeja's first assignment as captain, and it remains to be seen if he can have as close to the impact Dhoni has had on CSK.

You can check out CSK's full squad for IPL 2022 here.