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Sanjiv Goenka’s interview reveals what went down between MS Dhoni and Rising Pune Supergiants’ management

Goenka's recent interview in Bengali newspaper, Sanghbad Pratidin, has bought a whole different angle to the entire story.

© AFP
MS Dhoni was replaced by Steven Smith as IPL 2017 skipper  © AFP

The Indian Premier League‘s fever is steadily catching up and the team auctions were held on Monday. But the one news that has sent shock-waves in the cricket industry and amongst its fans alike is the sacking of MS Dhoni as Rising Pune Supergiants’ (RPS) skipper. Sanjiv Goenka, the owner of the franchise, had been very clear about the assignment of a new face for their 2017 IPL campaign, and therefore he took the decision to appoint Australian captain Steven Smith to replace Dhoni. Goenka, who is also the co-owner of Indian Super League’s (ISL) Athletico de Kolkata said that they believed for a younger person to run his side and hence settled for Smith, for the way he managed his Australian team. However Goenka’s recent interview in Bengali newspaper, Sanghbad Pratidin, has brought a whole different angle to the entire story.

In the interview, Goenka says he is fully aware that the decision will not be in harmony with the feelings of the common people but believes it is a right one. “Last year our team couldn’t perform according to our potential. So I needed a person who could convert possibilities into results, like Steve,” he says. He also went on to add that the removal of Dhoni did not rise due to personal preferences but was in the interest of the franchise. IPL 2017 Auction Review: Sans MS Dhoni’s leadership, daunting pressure on Ben Stokes, Steven Smith-led Rising Pune Supergiants have quite a task

The report took an interesting turn as the daily went on to reveal more contentious details on Dhoni’s removal. Apparently, the former captain was mostly unreachable on phone and all his calls had to be filtered through this manager Arun Pandey.

He is also said to have skipped a lot of meetings as of which the field settings had to be changed. He also skipped net sessions and did not observe how the younger players were faring. After Pune’s repeated loses, Gujarat Lions’ skipper Suresh Raina came up to RPS owners and advised them to play Australian leg spinner Adam Zampa . When the owners inquired Dhoni on the same, he said as he was not part of all the net sessions, he could not gauge the potential of the youngsters of the team. After persistent requests from Goenka, Zampa is said to have been included in the team.

Dhoni also worked towards the inclusion of Saurabh Tiwary in the team, who has been an inconsistent player.  This shocked the owners as they deemed Tiwary not fit to be in the team. Moreover, Dhoni tried to give his inputs in the design and colour of the jersey which was again seen as an intrusion by the authorities. During his association with Chennai Super Kings, Dhoni is said to have exercised powers over non-cricketing matters but RPS had no plan to do that.

After all of this, it was quite obvious that there was a sure tussle between Goenka and Dhoni, when they met in January and the latter was given a clear indication of the future. RPS CEO Rahul Aich is then said to have given the message to MSD to which he replied that they can do what they like and he is ready to serve as a normal player.

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