Rohit pens heartfelt post as Dhoni steps down as CSK skipper

The 17th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will kick off on March 22, with last year's champions going head to head with the Faf Du Plessis-led Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in a South Indian derby at the latter's home arena--MA Chidambaram Stadium.

After the CSK's official announcement, Rohit shared a picture along with Dhoni on his Instagram story with a handshake emoji.

The five-time champion led the CSK in 212 IPL matches, winning 128 matches and losing 82. Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket on August 15, 2020, after leading the team to glory in the 2007 T20 World Cup, 2011 ODI World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy.

Last year, Dhoni led the Chennai franchise to a record-equalling fifth IPL title against the Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad. The 42-year-old, who remains one of Indian cricket's most admired faces, enjoying fandom that rivals that of some current stars, captained Chennai since the inaugural IPL season in 2008, barring two years when the franchise was suspended from the tournament over fixing charges.

He handed over the captaincy mantle to star-all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja at the start of the 2022 season but returned to lead the franchise again after just eight matches into the season.

Earlier, in November last year, Pandya moved back from Gujarat Titans (GT) to his former franchise Mumbai Indians (MI) as part of a trade between both franchises. The star all-rounder spent two momentous years with GT, spearheading their campaign in the cash-rich league with aplomb. In GT's debut season in 2022, Hardik got them off to a fairytale start, with the team lifting the coveted trophy.

In 31 matches for GT, Pandya scored 833 runs at an average of 37.86 and a strike rate of over 133, with six half-centuries and a best score of 87*. He also took 11 wickets for the team, with the best figures of 3/17.

Pandya also played 92 matches for MI from 2015-2021, scoring 1,476 runs at an average of 27.33 at a strike rate of over 153, with four half-centuries and best score of 91. He also took 42 wickets for the team, with the best bowling figures of 3/20. Pandya has won five IPL trophies, four with MI (2015, 2017, 2019, 2020) and GT (2022). (ANI)