MS Dhoni Was Not CSK's First Choice As Captain: Former CSK Batsman Reveals Name!

As IPL fever has begun and fans are impatient about the big day, former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batsman S Badrinath has made a new revelation about the team. 

He revealed an incident during the inaugural season of the IPL. Surprisingly, Dhoni was not the first choice as captain for the franchise; it was former India opener Virender Sehwag. Days later, MS Dhoni was chosen as the captain, to lead the team and till date it has been so. 

While speaking on his YouTube channel, former CSK batsman Badrinath said that CSK picked Sehwag as the captain, but he decided to stay with Delhi. 

“IPL started in 2008, and if you see who was the first option for Chennai Super Kings, it was Virender Sehwag. The management had decided on picking Sehwag for sure, but Sehwag himself said that he was brought up in Delhi, so he would have a better connection," Badrinath said.

“The management agreed for him to play in Delhi, thinking it would be better. Then came the auctions, and they saw who was the better player, and before that India won the 2007 World T20. And only then did they decide to sign Dhoni," he added.

Further giving inside details about Dhoni's prize money, the former CSK batsman asserted that “In 2008, MS Dhoni was the most expensive player, they bought him for INR 6 crores. So this is a story you probably don’t know but Dhoni was picked instead of Sehwag. According to me, MS Dhoni coming to CSK was killing three birds with one stone. One, he is one of the best captains the world has ever seen. There is no trophy that he doesn’t have."

“Second, the best finisher. A finisher is a very important part of all the best T20 teams around the world. Even if you see all the good teams today, Mumbai Indians have Pollard, Kolkata Knight Riders have Andre Russell, CSK have MS Dhoni. And third, he is an excellent wicketkeeper. One of the best and safest keepers I have ever seen," he finally ended.