Virender Sehwag was first choice for the role of CSK captain not MS Dhoni, reveals Subramanian Badrinath

There is no doubt that Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni is the most successful captain in the Indian Premier League, having led them to three titles and five other finals in the history of the tournament.

The team has been involved in the playoffs in all the seasons that they have played the tournament. That’s been the record of MS Dhoni’s captaincy in the Indian Premier League.

And yet to think of it, it is said that the young MS Dhoni was not CSK’s first-choice captain when the team was being assembled for the inaugural Indian Premier League in 2008.

Former CSK and India batsman Subramanian Badrinath, who was part of the franchise in 2008 has revealed that it was Virender Sehwag, and not MS Dhoni, who was the first choice for the role of Chennai Super Kings skipper.

But Sehwag later said that he would like to play for the Delhi Daredevils team (which is now the Delhi Capitals) and then the CSK management zeroed in on MS Dhoni to lead the franchise.

“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,” Subramanian Badrinath said on his YouTube channel.

“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.”

Just a year before the IPL auctions, India had won the inaugural T20 World Cup in South Africa by beating Pakistan in a closely-fought match. This according to Badrinath worked in Dhoni’s favour, and he was brought by the CSK for Rs 6 crore.

This worked out very well for CSK, added Badrinath, “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,” said Badrinath.