Fans are unhappy over Rohit Sharma being replaced as Mumbai Indians captain by Hardik Pandya after 11 years. Across various social media platforms, they have expressed their displeasure over the move where they have showered the former MI captain with love. One fan, in particular, expressed a wishful thought over on X (formerly Twitter) about Rohit, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin all moving to Chennai Super Kings and playing under MS Dhoni one last time.
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Rohit has no shortage of IPL trophies, but Kohli is still searching for his first. Even R Ashwin has not won the title for a long time now. All three of them were part of India’s ICC Champions Trophy squad that won the title under Dhoni. Considering, the trio won’t play for long now, a fan on X wants them to win one more silverware under Dhoni’s leadership.
“Bring Rohit, Kohli and Ashwin to CSK to play under Dhoni. Run back 2013 Champions Trophy vibes”, wrote a X user named Karthik.
The 2013 Champions Trophy remains the last major ICC global tournament that India won, that too convincingly. Besides Shikhar Dhawan‘s class act throughout the tournament, scoring 363 runs and earning the Player of the Series Award, his opening partner Rohit scored 177 runs too, the 4th highest in the tournament.
Kohli and Ashwin were both instrumental in the final against England when India defended a paltry score of 129/7 in 20 overs. Kohli scored 43(34) and Ashwin was the pick of the bowlers with 2/15 of his 4 overs. Bringing these memories back surely must give every cricket fan joy in their lifetime.
MS Dhoni Passes Test Of Time As A Captain
Dhoni started his IPL captaincy journey way before Rohit and Kohli. Both Rohit and Kohli’s tenure has ended, but Dhoni is still going strong as CSK’s captain. This proves the longevity of the legendary wicket-keeper. Not just in IPL, but even in international cricket, Dhoni’s achievements need no validation.
Dhoni has captained India in 332 International matches across formats (200 in ODIs, 60 in Tests, and 72 in T20Is). Out of those 332, Kohli, Rohit and Ashwin played a part in 210, 189 and 149 matches, respectively. All three of them played the major chunk of their career under Dhoni’s leadership and excelled during the same. Hence, needless to say, they place their trust and faith in Dhoni.
Dhoni has won almost every major feat in International cricket as Indian captain which includes the ICC World Cup T20 2007, ICC ODI World Cup 2011, ICC Champions Trophy 2013, two Asia Cups (2010 Sri Lanka, 2016 Bangladesh), 2007-08 Commonwealth Bank Series, etc. His five IPL trophies with CSK, joint highest with MI, are just added proof of his superiority as a leader.
Giving the ball to Ishant Sharma against England in the final of the 2013 Champions Trophy or trusting Joginder Sharma with the final over against Pakistan in the 2007 T20 World Cup Final, or coming out to bat ahead of Yuvraj Singh in the 2011 World Cup Final against Sri Lanka, are just some of his masterful moves over the years.
Dhoni is also renowned for giving enough space and opportunities for young players to flourish. Like shifting Rohit to open the batting or letting Virat bat right at the top of the order. Even Ashwin got the much needed backing by Dhoni in the early phase of his career.
Ashwin also spent eight seasons (2008-2015) playing for CSK, the club helmed by Dhoni from the very beginning. He played 97 matches and took 90 wickets for the franchise, helping it win 2 IPL Titles and 2 Champions League titles in the process. He also said once that he was prepared to die for his captain aka Dhoni if need be.
“As far as I am concerned it’s like an army where you don’t go behind your leader you are definitely going to get shot. And if my captain asks me die on the field, I’ll do it”, said Ashwin at a press conference reported by Wisden India once.
While it’s highly unlikely that Rohit, Kohli, and Ashwin might move to CSK again, if Dhoni still lifts the trophy for the 6th time, it will be a great gift for the fans.
