The entire cricketing world once again witnessed the aura of Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Friday when the 39-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman led Chennai Super Kings to their fourth Indian Premier League (IPL) title victory. Dhoni and his men emerged as champions after defeating Kolkata Knight Riders by 27 runs in Dubai.
CSK have been terrific in the entire season. Be it the India leg or the second half of the tournament that commenced in the UAE, they maintained themselves at the top half of the points table and were the first franchise to make it to the playoffs and then qualify for the finals.
And now when the question looms over Dhoni’s continuity with CSK and in what capacity, former India opener Virender Sehwag feels that the legendary wicketkeeper-batter must play one more season before drawing curtains on his IPL career.
Sehwag said, “The legacy of captain is known for the number of trophies he has won. And this captain [MS Dhoni] has won four titles and played 9 finals. So, to match him up will be an uphill task for any other skipper. Rohit Sharma is indeed close but to play 9 season finals, he needs more time.”
“No doubt, Chennai Super Kings is the best team of this T20 tournament that plays consistently. They finished at the bottom of the table last year and before that, they were banned for 2 years. So for 3 out of 13-14 years, they were out of the contention. But in the rest of the seasons, they have played the playoffs and made it to the final on 9 occasions.
“It’s a phenomenal team. No one in Team India could beat Dhoni’s legacy and hopefully, it would be difficult for any other captain to do the same for CSK. I feel, he has one more year left in him for Chennai. He must play in next season and then retire,” he concluded.
