Dhoni Axed as Captain, Steve Smith to Lead Rising Pune Supergiants

Rising Pune Supergiants have appointed Steve Smith as the new skipper.

MS Dhoni. (Photo: BCCI)

The Rising Pune Supergiants team management has sacked MS Dhoni as the captain of the team ahead of IPL 10, which is set to begin on 5 April. They have decided to appoint Australia’s skipper Steve Smith as the new captain of the side.

However, Dhoni will continue to be a part of the Pune franchise as a player.

The decision comes a day before the players' auctions scheduled to be held in Bengaluru. This is the first time that the 35-year-old, who had stepped down as India’s limited-overs captain on his own terms earlier this year, has been removed from the top position.

RPS owner Sanjeev Goenka confirmed the news to PTI.

We have opted for Steve Smith as captain of RPS for the forthcoming IPL season. Frankly speaking, we did not have a good last season and we wanted someone young to lead the side and revamp it ahead of the upcoming season 10.

Sanjeev Goenka

Goenka told India Today that the CEO of the IPL franchise Raghu Iyer went to Ranchi to ask MS Dhoni to step down as captain and also asked Steve Smith to become the new leader of the side.

While, Smith was keen on taking up the new role, Dhoni cooperated with the decision and will help the Australian in decision-making on the field.

According to reports, South Africa’s T20 captain Faf du Plessis was also considered for the captain’s role.

I have the highest regard for MS Dhoni as a leader and a person. Dhoni continues to be an integral member of our team. He is supportive of the decision keeping the franchise’s best interests in mind.

Sanjeev Goenka

Dhoni is also expected to bat up the order, now that he no longer has to lead the side.

The RPS owner also told India Today that the team management wants a younger and fitter team for the upcoming season. They have reportedly released eleven players from their team, mostly because of issues with their fitness.

In IPL 9, the team had managed to win only five of the 14 matches in the qualifying stage under Dhoni.

Pune, who were plagued with injury issues, just about avoided the last place to finish ahead of Kings XI Punjab at the seventh spot in the eight-team standings of IPL 2015.

Although the team started well with a win over Mumbai Indians in their first match, it failed to maintain the consistency with the likes of Kevin Pietersen, Faf du Plessis and Steven Smith all withdrawing due to injuries.

Another cause of concern for the team was allegedly Dhoni’s poor form. The former Indian captain managed to score only 284 runs in 12 innings, with just one half-century in his kitty.

However, the most expensive player of the tournament that began in 2008, Dhoni remains one of the most successful captains that IPL has witnessed so far. He is one of the three captains to have won the league twice. Under him, the Chennai Super Kings won the IPL in 2010 and 2011 and also the Champions League in 2010 and 2014.

Dhoni was associated with the now suspended Chennai Super Kings in all the seasons before joining the Rising Pune Supergiants last year.

He was the first one picked in the only draft held in the IPL, in December 2015, after Chennai and Rajasthan Royals were suspended for two years and two new franchises – Pune and Gujarat Lions – were given the option of choosing up to five players each.