Former India cricketer Subramaniam Badrinath feels MS Dhoni has taken a wise decision to hand over the leadership of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to Ravindra Jadeja as the charismatic skipper will still be playing and will have time to groom the all-rounder for the captaincy role and help him in taking on-field decisions.
Ahead of the start of the IPL 2022, the 40 year old Dhoni on Thursday decided to hand over the captaincy of CSK to Jadeja.
The star all-rounder, who has been an integral part of Chennai Super Kings since 2012, will only be the third player to lead the Chennai-based franchise after Dhoni and Suresh Raina.
Dhoni, under whom the CSK has registered a record 121 wins in 204 matches in the IPL, will continue to represent the franchise this season and beyond.
The 41-year old Badrinath, who played under the captaincy of Dhoni at CSK, feels that the captaincy progression is a logical decision considering Mahi is no longer at the peak of his career.
"There is definitely some planning in what MS Dhoni does and he would've certainly thought about it for the last year or so. The announcement has come now but it probably was in the pipeline. Jadeja is a senior player now and playing in all three formats for India. I am sure he will do well and Dhoni is also there on the field so that will be a great backbone for Jaddu," Badrinath said.
The stylish batter also spoke about the natural progression of cricketers and how Dhoni can groom Jadeja in the upcoming IPL season and help him in taking decisions.
"It's a natural progression, every cricketer has to go through this and we all know MS Dhoni is not at the peak of his career. So it was going to happen at some point or another. Perhaps, it's his last season.. we don't know so we have to look for a captain," he said.
"It's better when MS is there and he can groom a captain rather than when he is not there and Jadeja is left on the field all alone. It's a wise decision when MS is already on the field and he can help Jadeja," he added.
