In IPL 2016, Rising Pune Supergiant were among the worst-performing sides and finished seventh under Dhoni, which tempted the owner to look for alternatives.
There was ample drama when Rising Pune Supergiant (RPSG) decided to change the leadership group in IPL 2017. RPSG, who were in the competition due to the ban imposed on Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR), made a bold move and replaced MS Dhoni with Steve Smith as their new captain.
In IPL 2016, Rising Pune Supergiant were among the worst-performing sides and finished seventh under Dhoni, which tempted the owner to look for alternatives. There have been talks about rifts between Sanjiv and Dhoni due to an abrupt change in captaincy seven years ago.
However, Sanjiv has cleared the air and confirmed that the two still share a warm relationship. On Ranveer Allahabadia’s podcast TRS Clips, he revealed he always learns something whenever he meets MS 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 logical 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.”
Rising Pune Supergiant reached the final in IPL 2017 under Steve Smith
The change in captaincy did wonders for the franchise as Rising Pune Supergiant excelled in the following season by churning out consistent performances. In IPL 2017, they won nine games out of 14 and were second in the points table, only behind Mumbai Indians (MI).
They also reached the final and came close to winning but fell short by one run. However, the team left the competition with a big impact, and Sanjiv’s decision proved correct.
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Maybe fans didn’t like the decision since Dhoni is a natural leader, but it benefitted the team. Even Smith accepted it was hard to captain someone like Dhoni.
Dhoni still had a massive role as a wicketkeeper batter and provided tactical details. It’s just that he wasn’t leading the side on paper.
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