PremiumIPL 2024 - AB de Villiers say, 'MS Dhoni stepping down as captain is a huge mistake'; and many agree
The match is being held at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai and the crowd filled with yellow jerseys are holding posters stating MS Dhoni will forever be their captain.
Last Updated: 06.59 PM, Mar 22, 2024
The 1st match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 is all set to kick off with a high-profile encounter between defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Friday (March 22). However, just before this game, during the captain's photoshoot, fans were shocked to see Ruturaj Gaikwad posing instead of the legendary MS Dhoni.
It was later stated that MSD had stepped down and handed the captaincy to the young Indian player. This news surely received mixed reactions, and now agreeing to the sentiments of many unhappy fans is former RCB batter AB de Villiers.
Speaking at the Jio Cinema's Match Centre Live, when asked about Ruturaj being the new captain, AB de Villiers said, "I will be honest. I feel MS Dhoni stepping down as captain is a huge mistake." He went on to add that the side had tried to do the same once when they made Ravindra Jadeja the skipper and saw the side failing to perform.
This statement by AB de Villiers soon went viral, with many fans also agreeing with the sentiments.
Currently, with the match being held at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, the crowd is filled with yellow jerseys. However, amid all this, there are also fans holding posters stating MS Dhoni will forever be their captain.
As for the first clash, RCB has not won a match at Chepauk since 2008 and will be looking to change this and start this season with a victory.
Squads:
Chennai Super Kings Squad: Rachin Ravindra, Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Sameer Rizvi, Daryl Mitchell, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni(w), Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Maheesh Theekshana, Moeen Ali, Mustafizur Rahman, Mitchell Santner, Tushar Deshpande, Ajay Jadav Mandal, Prashant Solanki, Mukesh Choudhary, Simarjeet Singh, RS Hangargekar, Shaik Rasheed, Nishant Sindhu, Aravelly Avanish
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Squad: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis(c), Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik(w), Alzarri Joseph, Karn Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Reece Topley, Tom Curran, Swapnil Singh, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Lockie Ferguson, Mayank Dagar, Will Jacks, Suyash Prabhudessai, Anuj Rawat, Manoj Bhandage, Yash Dayal, Saurav Chauhan, Rajan Kumar, Himanshu Sharma.