Just one day before the 2017 IPL auction, Rising Pune Supergiants decision to replace MS Dhoni with Steve Smith as captain of the team sent shockwaves across the cricketing universe. The whole cricketing fraternity was left stunned hearing the news of MS Dhoni being replaced by Steve Smith as the captain of Rising Pune Supergiants.

Dhoni, who relinquished his position as Indian captain on his own from all cricketing formats, has been sacked for the very first time from the role which made him what he is today.

Under 35-year-old Dhoni`s captaincy, the Pune team finished second last in their debut IPL season in 2016, winning only five games and losing nine.

RPS Owner Sanjeev Goenka Revealed The Reason Behind Replacing MS Dhoni With Steve Smith As Captain:

In an interview with India Today, RPS team owner Sanjeev Goenka confirmed the development and revealed the reason behind captaincy change.

“We have opted for Steve Smith as captain of RPS for the forthcoming IPL season. We wanted a young captain. We spoke to Steve Smith and he agreed. We have communicated the decision to Dhoni. He is a thorough professional. Dhoni and Smith share a great rapport. MS is ready to help him on the field.“

Goenka heaped praise on Dhoni and said that he has the highest regard for him as a leader and a person. He also went on to say that Dhoni will continue to be an important part of the team and the decision was made keeping the franchisee’s best interests in mind.

The 35-year-old Mahi, who led Chennai Super Kings to two consecutive IPL titles in 2010 and 2011, recently decided to hand over the captaincy bandwagon of Indian cricket team to Virat Kohli.

It’s true that the maverick leader couldn’t repeat his Chennai Super Kings’ exploits with Pune last, but the decision to bring in Steve Smith can backfire in more than one way.

Here are some of the most epic Twitter trolls that followed the shocking news:-

As If Losing Matches Was Not Enough For Pune, They Want To Lose All The Fans Too. (MS Dhoni)

Pathetic Decision By Rising Pune Supergiants. pic.twitter.com/WQvgU3ypGT

— Sir Ravindra Jadeja (@SirJadeja) February 19, 2017

Steve Smith replaces MS Dhoni as the captain of Rising Pune Supergiants. pic.twitter.com/1LlaMin6X3

— SAGAR (@sagarcasm) February 19, 2017

MS Dhoni removed as RPSG’s captain, Last Year they lost matches, this year they’ll lose their fans too?

— Virat Kohli (@ViratKohli_King) February 19, 2017

I bet @RPSupergiants will lost their 80% fans because of this decision making steve Smith skipper replacing MS Dhoni

— Debjit Sinha (@DebjitSpeaks) February 19, 2017

MS #Dhoni‘s Last 5 Balls As A Captain Of #RisingPuneSupergiants – 6 0 4 6 6.

RT If You Still Want Him As Captain. #IPL10 #IPL2017 pic.twitter.com/QIucZ3hIyc

— Sir Ravindra Jadeja (@SirJadeja) February 19, 2017

As far as Dhoni’s record for RPS is concerned, he only scored 284 runs from 12 innings with only one fifty to his credit. Hopefully, with the captaincy burden off, he will be able to express himself more and get himself in peak form ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy in June.

What’s your take on this story? Do you think it was a right decision taken by the RPS team? Let us know your views in the comments section below.