{"id":254,"date":"2026-04-23T18:20:59","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T18:20:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tamilmail.lk\/english\/?p=254"},"modified":"2026-04-23T18:20:59","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T18:20:59","slug":"dhonis-strategic-absence-aims-to-empower-gaikwads-leadership-experts-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tamilmail.lk\/english\/2026\/04\/23\/dhonis-strategic-absence-aims-to-empower-gaikwads-leadership-experts-say\/","title":{"rendered":"Dhoni\u2019s Strategic Absence Aims to Empower Gaikwad\u2019s Leadership \u2013 Experts Say"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"88\" data-end=\"365\">The absence of <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">MS Dhoni<\/span><\/span> from the field during the 2026 IPL season has sparked widespread discussion among fans of <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Chennai Super Kings<\/span><\/span>, with new insights suggesting a deliberate leadership strategy rather than just injury concerns.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"367\" data-end=\"753\">While initial reports cited a muscle injury as the reason for Dhoni\u2019s absence, former New Zealand cricketer <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Simon Doull<\/span><\/span> has revealed a deeper motive. According to Doull, Dhoni is intentionally staying away from the spotlight to allow new captain <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Ruturaj Gaikwad<\/span><\/span> to establish himself without the overwhelming influence of Dhoni\u2019s presence.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"755\" data-end=\"1008\">He explained that Dhoni\u2019s presence on the field naturally draws all attention\u2014both from cameras and fans\u2014which could overshadow Gaikwad\u2019s authority. By stepping back, Dhoni is enabling Gaikwad to make independent decisions and lead the team confidently.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1010\" data-end=\"1225\">This perspective was echoed by former Indian fast bowler <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Zaheer Khan<\/span><\/span>, who noted that although Dhoni continues to guide from behind the scenes, Gaikwad remains the clear leader on the field.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1227\" data-end=\"1538\">Doull also contrasted this approach with the leadership situation at <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Mumbai Indians<\/span><\/span>, where captain <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Hardik Pandya<\/span><\/span> faces challenges managing a squad filled with experienced leaders like <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Rohit Sharma<\/span><\/span> and <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Suryakumar Yadav<\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1540\" data-end=\"1723\">Experts believe that CSK\u2019s gradual and well-planned transition under Dhoni\u2019s guidance has created a stable leadership structure, even as fans continue to miss seeing him on the field.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The absence of MS Dhoni from the field during the 2026 IPL season has sparked widespread discussion among fans of Chennai Super Kings, with new insights suggesting a deliberate leadership strategy rather than just injury concerns. While initial reports cited a muscle injury as the reason for Dhoni\u2019s absence, former New Zealand cricketer Simon Doull &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":255,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tamilmail.lk\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tamilmail.lk\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tamilmail.lk\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tamilmail.lk\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tamilmail.lk\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tamilmail.lk\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":256,"href":"https:\/\/tamilmail.lk\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254\/revisions\/256"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tamilmail.lk\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tamilmail.lk\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tamilmail.lk\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tamilmail.lk\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}