It was no ordinary Saturday in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. Five-time champions, Mumbai Indians finally tasted victory after eight defeats. That's a big enough occasion for the world's premier T20 cricket league to red-letter the day. But a seismic event, at least in cricket terms, also happened. And it took only an alert to stun IPL -- the return of MS Dhoni to the helm of Chennai Super Kings. Of course, even at 40, the former India captain remains the biggest and the most popular cricketer.
As Rohit Sharma & Co chased Rajasthan Royals's 158/6 in Mumbai, not so far from there, in Pune, powers that be in the Chennai Super Kings camp were busy drafting a letter, or rather summoning the magic words which they hoped would cure debilitating symptoms in a fraught campaign.
Chennai Super Kings, the defending champions, are ninth in the IPL 2022 points table, just a rung above the most successful side, Mumbai Indians. Well, Kolkata Knight Riders, the two-time champions, are eighth.
It's intriguing though that the three "big three" have collectively won five matches in 26 matches this season. The three will need miracles to make the IPL 2022 playoffs.
At least for Chennai Super Kings, they have the man with all the charms. And Ravindra Jadeja, the captain, initiated the first rituals, coerced or otherwise, by renouncing his position. And fortunately for them, that legend was never away from the sight. In fact, he was there pulling every string from the beginning. At least this is how the world sees it.
Some even claimed that nothing happens in the CSK camp without MS Dhoni's approval.
And on Saturday, just like how they announced the elevation of an all-star to the hot seat, CSK revealed the stepping down of a captain without much fuss. A tweet, accompanying the letter.
"Ravindra Jadeja has decided to relinquish captaincy to focus and concentrate more on his game & has requested MS Dhoni to lead CSK. MS Dhoni has accepted to lead CSK in the larger interest & to allow Jadeja to focus on his game," the statement read.
Ravindra Jadeja's reign was so fickle that it hardly bothered the statisticians. Eight matches, two wins and some unwanted records. The general conclusion is that the 33-year-old faltered under the pressure of leading one of the iconic teams in the most demanding cricket league.
Now, the big question.
Will MS Dhoni, who led Chennai Super Kings to four IPL titles, be able to revive their fortunes? The IPL 2022 is already deep into the second half, and they have only four points.
Five teams already have ten points or more, with debutants Gujarat Titans leading the table with 16 from nine matches.
Chennai Super Kings have six matches remaining in the league stage, and the maximum that they can have now is 16 points. That should be enough to make the IPL playoffs without worrying about other factors.
So, the answer to that big question is -- MS Dhoni & Co will need to win all their remaining six matches. It's not impossible. They have done it in back-to-back seasons - seven wins on the trot in 2013 and six in 2014.
The four-time champions can even take inspiration from Gujarat Titans, who are currently on a roll. Hardik Pandya & Co, with their fifth successive win coming late on Saturday.
The CSK faithfuls believe that MS Dhoni, with his fabled leadership and cricketing brain, will be able to revive the team's fortunes. But again, a captain is as good as his team. And worryingly, not many have turned up for Chennai Super Kings this season so far, including the departing captain.
This sure will be MS MS Dhoni's biggest test yet as a captain.
Chennai Super Kings' remaining fixtures: vs Sunrisers Hyderabad on May 1; vs Royal Challengers Bangalore on May 4; vs Delhi Capitals on May 8; vs Mumbai Indians on May 12; vs Gujarat Titans on May 15; vs Rajasthan Royals on May 20.
