We need to change our core group, says CSK captain Dhoni
Abu Dhabi: Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Sunday said that Chennai Super Kings' "core group" of players is set for overhaul after the franchise finished out of the IPL play-off bracket for the first time in 11 appearances.
CSK crushed Kings XI Punjab by nine wickets to end their worst-ever IPL season on a positive note, with Ruturaj Gaikwad's third successive half-century providing hope for a bright future.
A league-stage exit is a first for the three-time champions and one of IPL's most successful franchises.
"We need to slightly change our core group and look for the next 10 years," Dhoni said after the team's final league game.
"At the start of the IPL, we made a team and it served well. There comes a time where you have to shift a bit, hand it over to the next generation."
Dhoni, 39, vowed that his team will come back strongly in the next season.
"We'll come back stronger, that's what we are known for."
The World Cup-winning captain fuelled IPL retirement rumors by handing over his signed jerseys to Kolkata Knight Riders players after his team's victory on Thursday.
But, at the toss for Sunday's game, Dhoni himself confirmed that he will be there next season.
"Most definitely," said Dhoni when asked by former New Zealand pacer Danny Morrison if the game against Kings XI Punjab was his last for CSK.
"(The jerseys) maybe they thought I'm retiring," he said at the presentation ceremony.
Coming back to the campaign, he acknowledged that it was a very difficult one with the team losing eight of their 14 matches.
"It was a difficult campaign. We committed a lot of errors. The last four games were a template of where we would like to be.
Dhoni accepted that team didn't play to its full potential.
"I don't think we played to the full potential. If you are lagging too much, it becomes very difficult to push yourself and come up with performances. Very proud of the way they played their cricket. It would have been very tough 6-7 games.
"You won't want to be in a dressing room that is not really enjoying cricket. You want to keep coming up with different ideas but if the dressing room atmosphere is not happy, it becomes very tough.
"A lot depends on what the BCCI decides upon the auction. This has been a tough year. This is one of the seasons where most of the teams played well."
The 23-year-old Gaikwad stood out again with his fine strokeplay and temperament and Dhoni was full of praise for the batsman.
"Whenever we have seen Rutu bat, he's somebody who has done well in net sessions. But we were not able to see him in games. Then he got Covid, and even after 20 days he was not fit. He didn't get time for us to gauge...
"... That was one of the main reasons we kept going with Faf and Watson. It didn't work. But that's the point where you go with the experienced players."
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Delhi Polls: BJP faces protest, placates MLA amid resentment over ticket distribution
New Delhi, Jan 12: Resentment surfaced in the BJP on Sunday over ticket distribution for Delhi Assembly polls, with a protest held outside its Delhi unit office and an angry outburst by the outgoing MLA from Karawal Nagar who was not included in the candidate list released a day earlier.
As MLA Mohan Singh Bisht threatened to revolt after being denied a ticket from Karawal Nagar, the party rushed to control the damage and announced his candidature from the Mustafabad seat this evening.
A group of protesters from Tughlakabad in South Delhi held a dharna at the gate of the Delhi BJP office, demanding a change in the candidate from the constituency.
"Vikram Bidhuri Tum Sangharsh Karo; Modi Se Bair Nahi, Rohtas Teri Khair Nahi," the protesters, including mostly youngsters, chanted as the party leaders tried to pacify them.
In the second list of BJP candidates for the polls declared on Saturday, Rohtas Bidhuri was fielded from the Tughlakabad seat. In 2020 Assembly polls, Vikram Bidhuri who is a relative of senior party leader Ramesh Bidhuri, lost to AAP's Sahiram by over 13,000 votes.
A similar protest was also held by some party workers outside the Delhi BJP office against Mehrauli candidate Gajainder Yadav after the announcement of the first list of candidates earlier this month.
Bisht, the senior-most BJP MLA in the outgoing Assembly elected five times from Karawal Nagar, openly expressed unhappiness over being denied the ticket to contest from his stronghold.
A senior party leader said he was pacified after a meeting with BJP chief JP Nadda.
Bisht, after getting the ticket from Mustafabad, expressed confidence that he would win the seat for the BJP.
"I met the national president and things were ironed out. I have assured that I will contest from Mustafabad and win the seat for the party," Bisht told PTI.
The MLA said he and the BJP had considerable support in Mustafabad and he has already attended two public meetings there.
The BJP won the Mustafabad seat, having a significant minority community presence, in the 2015 Assembly polls but lost it to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in 2020.
Earlier in the day, Bisht told PTI that the party's decision to replace him with Kapil Mishra was "wrong" and its consequences will be visible after voting on February 5.
"You have challenged the 'samaj' (his Uttarakhandi community), not Mohan Singh Bisht. The BJP will lose at least 8-10 seats because of this decision, including Karawal Nagar, Burari, Mustafabad and Gokalpuri," Bisht warned.
The BJP fielded Kapil Mishra, a Hindutva hardliner, from Karwal Nagar in North East Delhi, which was rocked by massive communal violence just after the 2020 Assembly polls.
Sources in the party claimed that there was also "deep resentment" among the Delhi BJP's Scheduled Castes Morcha leaders over being denied tickets from different constituencies including Madipur and Kondli.
A top Delhi BJP functionary stressed that there are many ticket aspirants, so it is natural for those who did not get selected to feel disappointed.
"The BJP is a disciplined party and its leaders understand this. Sooner or later, everyone will realise this and work for the victory of the party giving up their resentment," he said.
The elections to 70 Assembly seats in Delhi are scheduled on February 5. Results will be out after the counting of votes on February 8.
The BJP, out of power in Delhi since 1998, is making all-out efforts to return to power. In the 2015 and 2020 Assembly polls, the party was completely routed by the AAP, scraping through with just three and eight seats, respectively.
