Matthew Hayden makes a big statement about MS Dhoni’s future in Indian T20 League

When the name is MS Dhoni, fans do tend to get emotional. The same was seen when he was once again asked whether he will be seen leading the team next year during the toss against Rajasthan. To everyone’s delight, MSD confirmed that he will be leading the Yellow Army in  ITL 2023 also. While fans and followers were excited by Dhoni’s statements, former Australian opener Matthew Hayden called it an emotional decision. He also stated that it will be a decision for Chennai to take whether they want a captain who has scored 200 runs in the tournament at a strike rate of 128.

Speaking to Star Sports ahead of Chennai’s last league match of the Indian T20 League 2022, at Wankhede Stadium, Hayden spoke about Dhoni’s contribution to the team in the season. He compared MSD’s performance with that of Sanju Samson’s and said that on that basis Dhoni has no chance of playing on.

“It is a really tough one. It depends on what the franchise expects. If you want a captain who has scored 200 runs this season at a strike rate of 128, then no problem. He has still got power in the hands, he still has those reflexes behind the stumps, and he has still got that great running between the wickets. He is also the most experienced captain in the entire ITL and has got those titles behind his name and that team behind him as well. But as they sit to rebuild and re-structure, how much of that is going to be MSD’s contribution,”- Hayden said.

“If you look at his actual contribution then I would say there is no chance of playing on. Have a look at Samson, he has scored over 300 runs at an average of 30 and that is still questioned if it is a big enough contribution as a leader. So, these are the things that will be measured and it will be a very emotional decision. Listen to the crowd and how they respond to him. And that is very important and that is why I fail to buy into this conversation,”- Hayden concluded.