Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar believes that Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni can take over as a mentor or head coach job for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the next IPL season.
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Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar believes that Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni can take over as a mentor or head coach job for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the next IPL season if he does not want to play and lead as well. Meanwhile, Akhtar’s bold statement came after Chennai Super Kings were eliminated from the playoff race by Mumbai Indians after the MS Dhoni-led side faced yet another defeat in IPL 2022 by 5 wickets at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday (May 12). Notably, Mumbai Indians too have been eliminated from the playoffs race much before.
However, MS Dhoni has so far scored 199 runs in 12 IPL 2022 matches which came at an average of 39.80 and a strike rate of over 130 as well. Meanwhile, CSK were the second team to be eliminated from the playoff race of IPL 2022 after the five-time champions Mumbai Indians, who are at the bottom of the points table with just three wins in 12 matches so far. On the other hand, CSK have won 4 matches out of the 12 games they have played so far in the tournament.
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“He can obviously continue playing next season if he wants to. But, if he doesn’t want to continue playing, he can return as a mentor or even a head coach. That would not be a bad role for him. It all depends on Dhoni. He is an asset. Either he is in the team or with the team,” Shoaib Akhtar said while speaking to Sportskeeda. “CSK’s management looked non-serious this time. Why the captaincy went to Jadeja we do not know. But they need to come back with a clear mind next season.”
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Shoaib Akhtar, however, also stated that nobody can read what’s going on in MS Dhoni’s mind. And he also believes that Dhoni might also announce his retirement with another song the way he did earlier while announcing his retirement from international cricket as well. Notably, MS Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket on August 15, 2022, with an Instagram post, which had a video clip capturing his entire cricketing career and a famous Bollywood song along with it.
“Dhoni might just play another song and announce his retirement. One really cannot predict what he can do. It’s just the kind of person he is. If he suddenly feels that he has to retire, he will do it. To be honest, the time has come for a few players. There are no ifs and buts in franchise cricket,” Shoaib Akhtar concluded.
