Sports
Sad times for MS Dhoni fans.
Updated : Sep 30, 2017, 01:28 PM IST
Mahendra Singh Dhoni was on Sunday removed as captain from the Indian Premier League team Rising Pune Supergiants.
Dhoni has not stepped down. We have appointed Steve Smith as the skipper for the upcoming 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," Supergiants' owner Sanjiv Goenka said.
The most expensive player of the tournament that began in 2008, Dhoni also has been among the most successful. Part of the now suspended Chennai Super Kings franchise from 2008 to 2015, Dhoni led the team to back-to-back titles in 2010 and 2011. Besides, he also led Chennai to the Champions League T20 trophies in 2010 and 2014.
This is the first time Dhoni has been been removed as captain from a team in his illustrious career. Naturally, Twitterati couldn't hold back in expressing it's shock.
Here are some of the best tweets:
Steve Smith as captain? Wary of having overseas skippers in the IPL if there's an Indian alternative available. RPS has Rahane-Ashwin #IPL
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) February 19, 2017
Steve Smith is a great captain, great cricketer.. but by no means he can be a better capatain than Dhoni in the IPL !
— Dhaya Alagiri (@dhayaalagiri) February 19, 2017
MS Dhoni the legend captain ab smith ke under mein wo bhi india mein or ipl mein stupid decision boycott pune
— Ankit dixit (@Ankitdi37649688) February 19, 2017
Steve Smith replaces MS Dhoni as the captain of Rising Pune Supergiants. pic.twitter.com/1LlaMin6X3
— Sagar (@sagarcasm) February 19, 2017
MS Dhoni can step down as a captain of the team but he always remain our Captain and no franchise can remove him from our heart #IPLauction
— Virender Sehwag (@VirenderSehweg) February 19, 2017
Am i the only one who feels this year is going to be the last IPL season for MS Dhoni !?
— Manas. (@That_MSDian) February 19, 2017
#RisingPuneSupergiants Removes MS Dhoni As Captain. Australia's Steven Smith To Be New Captain. 2 Min Of Silence For #RPS.#IPL10 #IPL2017 pic.twitter.com/Vyy8x2a2Fd
— Sir Ravindra Jadeja (@SirJadeja) February 19, 2017