Published: Feb 19, 2017, 01:58 PM (IST)
Edited: Feb 19, 2017, 05:20 PM (IST)
In a shocking move just a day ahead of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017 player auction, which is scheduled to take place in Bengaluru on Monday, MS Dhoni has been removed from captaincy of Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS) for the 2017 edition of the tournament. The former Indian skipper, who had recently stepped down from captaincy in the limited-overs format before the start of the England series, will now play only as the wicketkeeper-batsman. This decision means Dhoni will not be seen captaining any team henceforth.
RPS were one of the two new teams in the 2016 edition of the tournament along with Gujarat Lions (GL). The teams were drafted for a two-year period following the suspension of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) after they were found guilty of being involved in illegal betting and spot-fixing scandal. The RPS franchise is owned by RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group controlled by Sanjiv Goenka.
Goenka in a statement said, “I have the highest regard for MS Dhoni as a leader and a person. Dhoni will continue to be an important part of our team. He is supportive of the decision keeping the franchisee’s best interests in mind., according to indiatoday.in.
Goenka also confirmed that Steven Smith will lead RPS in IPL 2017. “We have opted for Steve Smith as captain of RPS for the forthcoming IPL season”
Although the Dhoni-led team started well with a win over Mumbai Indians (MI) in their first match, the team failed to maintain the consistency and went on to lose 9 of their next 13 games. The side was severely hit by injuries, with the likes of Kevin Pietersen, Faf du Plessis and Steven Smith all leaving the tournament midway due to injuries.
Dhoni has captained an IPL side in all the nine editions so far. He led CSK in first eight editions and RPS in IPL 9. CSK won two IPL titles and the Champions League T20 once under him.
