DHONI faces off with KOHLI! BCCI's Surgical Strike before T20 World Cup & Rohit Sharma's future.

The showdown between Captain Cool M.S. Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings and King Virat Kohli's Royal Challengers Bangalore is set to rock the cricket world. On September 24, 2021, at 7.30pm IST at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, the three-time IPL Champions CSK will play the ultimate entertainers of the IPL, RCB.

This is the second meeting between the two teams, with CSK winning the previous match during the first phase of the IPL 2021. When two seasoned captains meet in Sharjah, CSK has the upper hand when we look at the statistics from this season as well as the overall records of both teams. CSK met RCB 28 times in the IPL and Dhoni’s men in yellow had the final smile 18 times out of 28 matches. The current season’s records are also slightly in favour of the CSK as they are in the 2^nd position on the table with a highly pleasant +1.223 NRR, while the Challengers are right next to the Super Kings at 3^rd position but only with-0.706 NRR.

What makes the match special?

Since the IPL 2021 is heading towards the play-offs every matches are crucial for the teams. Super Kings and Delhi Capitals has almost entered the play-offs but the race to enter into the play-offs as the no.1 on the table is still going hot between DC and CSK. On the other side RCB’s play-off entry is still not secured as every point on the table matters for the Challengers. However, these are not the only factors that contribute to the forthcoming match's significance; the T20 World Cup and ongoing issues within Team India and the BCCI also play a part.

The KING? The HITMAN? Or The CAPTAIN COOL? Who will be Team India's Leader for the T20 World Cup?

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has decided to hold the T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates from October 17th to November 2021.The question in every cricket spectator’s mind right now is who will lead Team India in the T20 World Cup. The current Indian skipper has decided to step down from the T20 captaincy but only after the T20 World Cup. But he decided to remain as the captain in other formats.

When Virat leaves the captaincy, Rohit Sharma, the vice-captain, would most likely take over as the team's captain. The most logical and apparent thing to do is to make Rohit the new captain. In limited over formats, the BCCI prefers Rohit to be the skipper. However, the matter was highlighted when Kohli voiced his unhappiness with Rohit being chosen the next captain and demanded that the BCCI remove Rohit as vice-captain for the T20 World Cup and replace him with Rishabh Pant.

Virat said the decision to step down from the captaincy is because of the tremendous amount of work load as the captain in all three formats. Which is a reasonable decision for a veteran like Kohli. But we look deep into the matter and the surprising move towards Rohit Sharma gives the spectators another dimension of the situation.

Despite the fact that "The King" Virat Kohli is a brilliant batsman and a wonderful skipper who has led the team to numerous triumphs, Team India has never won a major ICC trophy when Kohli as captain. The skipper's batting performance has also been a source of frustration, as he has often failed to score significant runs in recent encounters. So Kohli is under a lot of pressure as a leader and as a batsman, and it wouldn't surprise him if the BCCI replaced him as captain for the T20 World Cup with Rohit Sharma.

Kohli's decision to stand down as captain after the T20 World Cup was a cautious one, since he may be stripped of both limited-over forms before the ODI World Cup in 2023, leaving him with only the test captaincy. This put pressure on the selectors and the BCCI to keep Kohli in the captaincy, and it exacerbated the situation when Kohli requested that Rohit Sharma be removed as his deputy.

If it was Virat Kohli's tactic to step down from the Twenty20 captaincy after the World Cup and put the BCCI under pressure, it is now clear that the BCCI has made its' surgical strike 'on Kohli before the World Cup by bringing in the former captain, M.S. Dhoni, as the World Cup squad's mentor.

Dhoni a Mentor or a Super Captain?

The appointment of Dhoni as mentor sends a message to Kohli that no member is bigger than the team. The presence of Rohit Sharma, the best captain in the IPL, and Dhoni, who has won more ICC titles for India, is sure to pose a big challenge to Kohli during this World Cup. The decision of the BCCI to announce former skipper MS Dhoni as the mentor of the Indian World Cup team has raised many questions in the minds of cricket fans. The batting and bowling advisors have been with the Indian team before in international competitions. Former captain Rahul Dravid has been India's batting advisor in the meantime. But the decision to make Dhoni, who is still active in cricket as the captain of the IPL team, the mentor of the World Cup team came as a surprise to everyone. 

As a mentor, Dhoni will return to the Indian team not to be Ravi Shastri's successor, but as a super captain above Kohli. The BCCI is confident that the captain, who has won the ICC title for India three times, will be able to unite the team without divisions and lead them to victory.

The Struggle for Survival at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

All of these internal concerns among Team India and the BCCI make today's match more special. This match is a chance for both captains to demonstrate their dominance in Indian cricket. When it comes to batting, Dhoni and Kohli are in bad form. The IPL has been ‘Dhoni-fied,' and the ‘THALA' is still leading the squad to victories and entertaining cricket fans as a wicket-keeper and master-brained captain.

However, Dhoni has struggled with the bat for the past two years. It's difficult for any cricket fan to see a player who previously smashed sixes out of the park and was called "the best finisher" struggle to score runs and get removed early. But Captain Cool, at the age of 40, is seen practicing in the nets like a young lad till 2 a.m., and is aiming to make a comeback as a super batsman like he was once.

Virat Kohli, on the other hand, is hungry for a win and to prove he is still the "King of Kohli." After an early setback against KKR, he endured a special gym session in order to help RCB get back on track.

If RCB or CSK fail to make the playoffs, this might be the last time we see CSK's Dhoni face RCB's Kohli as a captain. Kohli will step down as captain of the RCB at the end of the season, while Dhoni's future as an IPL player is uncertain.