Former New Zealand cricketer makes huge claim on MS Dhoni's future at Chennai

MS Dhoni (Source: Twitter)

The Indian T20 League auction culminated on 23rd December 2022. The Chennai franchise stunned one and all by going all out for Ben Stokes. The Big all-rounder for England went for a record 16.25 crore. Stokes played a major role in England's World Cup triumph in 2022. England have won all their Tests till now under the captaincy of Stokes as well.

Chennai were looking for balance and stability and found Stokes. The all-rounder will strengthen the middle order for the franchise. Chennai’s middle order did not fare well for them in the last edition. Former New Zealand cricketer Scott Styris has now made a bold call on Stokes. He has predicted that the 31-year-old will lead Chennai in the 2023 season itself.

"I think so, I think he will be captain. We have seen MS Dhoni try and pass the captaincy on, he has not been playing cricket regularly in between the IPL. It's just an opportunity for MS Dhoni to pass the baton. I think yes, they will do it straight away. Ben Stokes will be captain,". Chennai with buying the English limited-overs skipper in their ranks have potentially found a captaincy replacement for MS Dhoni.

Ravindra Jadeja captained Chennai last season

 MS Dhoni, who is on his last legs in the Indian T20 League, would have brought Stokes having a succession plan in mind. Dhoni would likely captain Chennai for one last time in the 2023 season and then appoint Stokes as his successor.

Chennai had a change in captain for a short while last season when Ravindra Jadeja replaced MS Dhoni but the experiment was not successful for Chennai as they ended the 2022 season in the ninth position on the points table. The captaincy also affected Jadeja’s all-round game. Dhoni was reappointed as captain halfway through the season.

Notably, Stokes and MS Dhoni have worked together before in the Indian T20 League season in 2016, when the two were in Pune. Stokes had gone for a huge sum to Pune even then and he had a wonderful season. He played 6 matches for them and scored 181 runs at an average of 45.25 with his best score of 103 coming against the Gujarat Franchise.