MS Dhoni won four IPL title for CSK (File Photo)
Four IPL trophies, nine finals, 11 playoffs as a captain, these are the captaincy records for IPL's most successful captain MS Dhoni. Dhoni has been the symphony for Chennai Super Kings for the last 14 years and now the Thala has decided to forward the baton to Ravindra Jadeja. On Thursday, CSK's official Twitter handle revealed the news.
"MS Dhoni has decided to hand over the leadership of Chennai Super Kings and picked Ravindra Jadeja to lead the team. Jadeja, who has been an integral part of Chennai Super Kings since 2012, will only be the third player to lead CSK. Dhoni will continue to represent Chennai Super Kings this season and beyond," CSK's official statement read.
It was a much-anticipated move as Dhoni has already passed his prime as a batsman and as a wicketkeeper, however, the value he holds as a mentor for the young players and extraordinary ability to handle the crunch situations on the field of cricket is still the same as it was way back in 2008 when he lead the Yellow Army for the first time.
Now that the Indian all-rounder will be taking matters in hand for CSK, let's try to analyse why MS Dhoni is regarded as one of the most successful captains in the history of the cash-rich league.
Win Percentage
Even though Mumbai Indians is the second most successful team in IPL with five trophies to their name MS is the most loved and victorious captain in the league. Other than CSK, MS led Rising Pune Supergiants in the year 2016 and 2017 where CSK were banned. MS was the captain of his team in 204 games in which the team won 121 matches and faced defeats in 82 while one had no result. His win percentage is 59.60% which is second best just 0.08% points behind Rohit Sharma.
9 IPL Finals
Under the magnificent leadership of MSD, CSK reached the final of IPL nine times which is the highest for any captain and a team. He leads the side to the final in the inaugural season of the IPL. Then the team was in the final from 2010 till 2013. After an off-year in 2014, the Yellow Army reached the final three times in a row. Chennai won the IPL 2022 beating Kolkata Knight Riders in the final. So out of 14 IPL finals, CSK played nine.
Four IPL titles
After reaching the final in 2008, CSK failed to qualify for the playoffs the next year, however, the team did not lead their fans down as they went on the win two titles in the next two seasons. They became the first team to retain the title. After the 2011 win, CSK managed to reclaim the trophy in 2018 which was their comeback year after serving two years of ban. Dhoni's last match as an IPL captain was the final of 2021 where CSK beat KKR to claim their fourth trophy.
11 playoffs out of 12 seasons
This is one of the prime reasons why CSK and MS Dhoni are regarded as the most successful team in the league's history. Expect a horrible season in 2020, CSK reached the knockout stage of the league every single time. Dhoni has played the most knockout stage matches as a captain in the league.
Here are a few more stats that prove that MS is the King of all IPL captains -
- MS Dhoni is the first man to lead a franchise 200 times in T20 cricket.
- MS Dhoni has been a captain in T20 cricket in 287 matches - a world record
- MS Dhoni is one of the three Indian captains who have won more than one IPL title, with the other two being Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir.
- MS Dhoni is joint-highest with Rohit Sharma in terms of total trophies – six. (Including Champions Trophy)
- MS Dhoni is the only Indian captain to have won more than one Champions Trophy title.
- MS Dhoni has 300 appearances as captain in T20 cricket
- MS Dhoni is the oldest captain to win the IPL trophy
- MS Dhoni record 8th title in T20
