Report | CSK owned Johannesburg franchise likely to rope in Stephen Fleming, MS Dhoni
MS Dhoni's involvement in the CSA T20 League would require approval from the BCCI
|As per a report from Insidesport, the Johannesburg based franchise in the newly established Cricket South Africa T20 League is all set to recruit MS Dhoni and Stephen Fleming to lead the side in the inaugural edition. However, Dhoni's involvement will be subject to approval from the BCCI.
The legacy of the Indian Premier League is all set to extend beyond continental borders into Africa, after all the franchises in the Cricket South Africa T20 League were acquired by teams already participating in the Indian competition. The highest bid was reserved for the team based out of Johannesburg and was eventually won by the Chennai Super Kings for a whopping sum of money.
Now that the list of marquee players and squad limits have been announced by the CSA, the next step is for teams to establish a leadership structure and get all the cosmetics ready in the form of names, theme colours and the like. For instance, Mumbai Indians have already established that their team would be named MI Cape Town and are now working on signing a head coach and his support staff.
However, a recent report from Insidesport has made the headlines after they revealed Chennai might stick with their highly-successful leadership core in the IPL by making Stephen Fleming the head coach of the African franchise as well. The former New Zealand skipper has been with the team since the very first edition, debuting as a player before switching to the role of head coach in 2009. He has led the Yellow outfit to four IPL titles and two Champions League trophies, along with five second-place finishes in the league.Â
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Find OutFleming's appointment however will only be confirmed once the team has come up with a name, which is likely to be Johannesburg Super Kings and should be announced in the coming week itself.  Â
“You will know the official name by this week. We are currently in talks with Stephen (Fleming) as we can’t think of any better person carrying forward the CSK legacy in a new venture,” CSK official told the InsideSport website.
Another major addition to the squadron is expected to be MS Dhoni, CSK's enigmatic skipper. Due to the Board of Control for Cricket India's restrictions on any Indian players participating in foreign T20 leagues, he is unlikely to feature in a playing role. Nevertheless, subject to permission from the governing body, the veteran could feature in an advisory league much like his involvement with the Indian team at the 2021 World T20.
“Dhoni’s involvement will depend on BCCI’s clearance. He won’t be playing but could be in some role if BCCI permits,” the CSK official said.
It remains to be seen whether the reports are true and await official confirmation from the Chennai Super Kings.
