Can MS Dhoni Repeat his CSK Success With Team Pune?

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Team India’s flamboyant captain MS Dhoni will be seen donning purple jersey instead of yellow in the entire IPL 2016 and 2017. Yes, Dhoni will be leading the newbie Rising Pune Supergiants this season. It would be really an uphill task for Dhoni to make the new team a winning squad but he will try his best to do so. Dhoni has led Chennai Super Kings (now banned for 2 years), his previous team, to two IPL titles in 2010 and 2011 respectively.

Mahi’s first challenge is to start off with a win against the mighty Mumbai Indians. But defeating Mumbai at their own backyard will not be easy. MI are a champion side and have retained most of their players. This shows the immense faith that the team owner has in these players. So you can expect the IPL inugral match between Mumbai and Pune to be an nail-biting one.

MS Dhoni’s Magic in IPL as CSK’s Captain

Memories never fade. It is very much expected that before Dhoni step in to the Wankhede stadium donning the hat as RPS’s new captain, he must be remembering all the good memories that he experienced as CSK captain. Nevertheless, Dhoni himself has played many memorable knocks for the yellow jersey team in his 8-year-long association with IPL cricket.

1. Chennai Super Kings reached into the final becoming runner-up in IPL 2008, 1^st edition of the IPL.
2. It was MS Dhoni’s magnificent captaincy that helped them become IPL champion in 2010 beating Sachin Tendulkar’s Mumbai Indians at Master Blaster’s own home ground, Mumbai.
3. CSK is the most consistent IPL team under Dhoni, winning 2 trophies, and remaining runners-up in 4 IPL seasons.
4. Until last year, CSK maintains its impressive winning record of around 60% in all IPL matches.

MS Dhoni’s Rising Pune Supergiants: An Overview 

There is no doubt that comparison between Dhoni’s current team (RPS) to that of CSK is quite inevitable. It is important to let the fans know that not all CSK players will play for Pune, but only a few of them. In fact, RPS will represent a mixture of few CSK and RR players respectively. Gujarat Lions, the second new team of the IPL, will also have some players from RR and CSK respectively. Both teams are facing 2-year-ban following Lodha Committee recommendation.

A few days back, Dhoni stated to the media that, “All of a sudden if you want me to say that I am very excited to play for a new team, don’t give credit to CSK and the fans for the love and affection they have given us, it will be wrong. But as a professional, I would like to thank the Pune team for taking me. Of course, there will be added responsibility as captain, but as a professional, we are supposed to do the job with more than 100% commitment. And that is what we will try to do.”

This year, Dhoni-led RPS will have a plethora of bowling and batting options. But Dhoni’s biggest challenge would be to pick the top 4 international cricketers before every match. The team has some big international names including Kevin Pietersen, Faf Du Plessis, Steve Smith, Mitchell Marsh, all-rounder Albie Morkel and many more. Dhoni’s most trusted comrade, R Ashwin, will also play for Pune team. Apart from Ashwin, RP Singh, Irfan Pathan, Ashok Dinda, Ishant Sharma amongst other will form the RPS’ strong bowling unit.

With Dhoni at the helm of team’s leadership, its winning per cent soars high. But before speculating much, let’s see whether they will be able to beat Mumbai tonight or not in their very first match. The live telecast of the match will be available on Sony ESPN at 8pm.