Rising Pune Supergiant was one of the two teams apart from Gujarat Lions to feature in the IPL 2016 and 2017 respectively. While Pune was led by MS Dhoni in the 2016 season, the former India captain was removed from his post in the next edition and the captain’s armband was handed over to Steve Smith. RPS made it to the final of the IPL in 2017.
While Smith was the captain of the side then, all-rounder Rajat Bhatia who was also a part of the setup has claimed that it was because of Dhoni that the team made it to the final. RPS ended the tournament as the runners up.
Speaking on SportsTiger’s interview series – Interact. Personal. Laugh & Life (IPLL) – Bhatia said, “You can never compare Dhoni with Steve Smith. Smith doesn’t even feature in the top 10 captains for me. Dhoni was the reason we reached the IPL 2017 final.”
Dhoni has been the second most successful captain in the IPL leading Chennai Super Kings to three titles. CSK along with Rajasthan Royals returned back to the IPL in 2018. The MS Dhoni-led team won the IPL in that season.
The Chennai Super Kings will now begin the IPL 2021 campaign against Delhi Capitals in Mumbai on April 10.
The 2020 IPL was the first ever season when CSK didn’t make it to the playoffs since the beginning of the league. With some new recruits, the franchise would seek to turn fortunes in their favour.