Delhi: Dhoni has been a part of CSK since the beginning of IPL, but he had to stay out of this team in the 2016 and 2017 seasons. In these two years, CSK was banned because the betting and spot-fixing controversy came to light in the 2013 season, in which the name of CSK owner Gurunath Meiyappan came up.
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Smith became captain in place of Dhoni
During these two seasons, Dhoni became a part of the Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS) team. The team’s performance in the first season was very poor and it stood second from bottom in the points table. But the next year, the team made a great comeback and reached the finals. However, before the player auction in 2017, RPS took a big decision, and removed Dhoni from the captaincy and made Steve Smith the new captain.
This decision raised a lot of controversies. The removal of a great captain like Dhoni (who had won the IPL trophy twice for CSK till that year) was a big shock for the fans. What were the reasons behind this decision and what was the conversation between Dhoni and team owner Sanjiv Goenka, is a mystery till date.
‘I learn something new from Dhoni every time’
Recently, Sanjeev Goenka, who is now the owner of Lucknow Supergiants, told in an interview, “This thing happened long ago. Whatever happened, happened with complete clarity. Even today, Dhoni and I have a very good and warm friendship. Any decision can be right or wrong, but the thinking behind taking it matters. I still say that I learn something new from every conversation with Dhoni.”
‘Dhoni will never tell secrets’
When this decision was taken, Dhoni had also given up the captaincy of India’s limited overs team. At the same time, Steve Smith was in the best phase of his career. Despite this decision, Dhoni never talked about it publicly. Goenka says that this conversation took place only between him and Dhoni and it will always remain a personal matter.
He said, “Dhoni has never talked about this nor will he. This was our personal conversation and that is correct. What is important is that even today our relations are very good.”