MS Dhoni stepped down as the captain of the Indian Premier League side Rising Pune Supergaints on Sunday. Australian skipper Steven Smith will take over the reigns for the upcoming season.
According to ANI, “MS Dhoni himself asked team management to step him down as captain and wanted to be part of the team as a player only.”
Under Dhoni, Pune had a poor inaugural season, falling well below expectations despite having a star-studded squad. They finished seventh in the table, losing nine games and getting only 10 points on the board.
Dhoni had a trophy-laden eight-year spell with the now suspended Chennai Super Kings, lifting the IPL and the discarded Champions League Twenty20 tournament two times each. CSK also finished runners-up on five separate occasions and had a winning percentage of a whopping 60.68, making them the most successful side in the tournament’s history.
Last month, Dhoni had pulled down the curtains on a glittering tenure as captain with India, choosing to contribute only as a player ahead of the India-England Limited-overs series.
Makes one wonder whether whether we have seen the last of Dhoni as skipper.