No one knows what happened between Dhoni and Sanjiv Goenka when Steve Smith was given the captaincy of Rising Pune Supergiants, but Sanjiv has a strong belief that Dhoni will never speak about the incident ever again.
MS Dhoni has been with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) from the very start of the Indian Premier League (IPL), apart from the two editions when the franchise was banned due to CSK’s owner Gurunath Meiyappan being involved in betting activities and in 2013 edition when spot-fixing scandal broke out. In those two years, Dhoni switched to Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS), one of the two new teams which got introduced that time.
The franchise sank in the first season, as they finished second from the bottom and finished as runner-up on the following year. However, before the start of the IPL in 2017, before the player auction, RPS dropped a shocking bomb when they decided to replace Dhoni and make Steve Smith their captain.
This all made sense in the long run as Steve guided RPS to their maiden final, and when it happened, everything went downhill. As he replaced someone of Dhoni’s caliber was a big move, as it led to a lot of backlash from the fans. No one knows what happened between Dhoni and the team owner Sanjiv Goenka. But even to this day, Sanjiv, the current owner of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) shares a wholehearted relationship wit Dhoni.
“That was a long time ago. But whatever happened, it happened with a very clear dialogue. I share a very close and warm relationship with MS Dhoni even today. Decisions could be right or wrong – only time will tell. But whether a decision is logic or illogical is a point that matters. Why did I make the decision? That becomes the perspective. And I said it back then and will say this again today ‘Every interaction with Mahi, I walk out after learning something‘,” Goenka told Ranveer Allahabadia on his podcast TRS Clips.
Days before the change got announced, Dhoni has left his position as India’s limited-overs captain, as Steve Smith was at the top of his batting and captaincy powers. When Sanjiv recalled the older times, he said he stands strong on going with his decision to take Steve Smith as the captain of RPS and letting Dhoni know about this decision all those years ago.
“I recently met him. He was telling my son Shashwat about what all he can learn from cricket to help his business. This warmth, this feeling, this spirit means a lot. Beyond a point, you just not letting it impact you. To see it doesn’t impact is false. I am a very self-assured person. I know in my own heart whether my decision is sincere or not. Sincerity gives you that confidence. And no matter what anyone says, the truth will come out one day,” added Goenka.
“Who did it I am not sure, but MS hasn’t spoken a word and will not. And it’s a private relationship. It was a communication that was between two individuals, and they came to a conclusion. And that was that. What is important is that we still share a warm relationship,” he concluded.
Since it is evident that when enquired about the conversation, Goenka said that it will remain a secret forever, so we might never ever get to know what had happened between Sanjiv and Dhoni. There might even be a possibility that Dhoni might keep this conversation and keep it to himself till his time comes, no one knows.
