The franchise owner's statement suggest it was their decision to remove Dhoni: Harsha Bhogle

In what came as a big call from the Rising Pune Super Giants camp, former Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was removed as the captain of the franchise with immediate effect. Australian captain Steven Smith who is the current captain of the Australian national team across all formats has been appointed as his replacement. Dhoni who stepped down from the national captaincy very recently to end his 9-year captaincy career performed brilliantly in the limited overs series under the leadership of Virat Kohli.

“Dhoni has not stepped down. We have appointed Steve Smith as the skipper for the upcoming season. Frankly speaking, we did not have a good last season and we wanted someone young to lead the side and revamp it ahead of the upcoming season 10,” Rising Pune Supergiants owner Sanjiv Goenka was quoted as saying by PTI.

It was really a brave call taken by the franchise considering Dhoni hasn’t been removed as a captain of any teams and always had the luxury to step down or decide on his own. Cricket Commentator Harsha Bhogle explained why this was really a big call from Pune.

Taking to his twitter handle Bhogle wrote, “I think the franchise owner’s statement suggests it was their call and not Dhoni’s. That makes it a really big call. I wonder if Steve Smith will have the time to provide inputs into the kind of players he wants. And get to know the young Indian players.”

The shocking reaction of Bhogle is understandable considering the amount of popularity Dhoni has especially in India. The statement of Sanjiv Goenka which clearly says they have ousted Dhoni shows a mark of disrespect to a man who has undoubtedly been the greatest Indian skipper till date and his record is a sheer proof his credentials.

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The owner further added, “I have the highest regard for MS Dhoni as a leader and a person. Dhoni continues to be an integral member of our team. He is supportive of the decision keeping the franchise’s best interests in mind.” The most expensive player of the tournament that began in 2008, Dhoni also has been among the most successful.”