Indian cricket captain M.S. Dhoni, who is currently leading the national squad in the Twenty20 World Cup in Bangladesh, has offered to step down as Chennai Super Kings captain and vice-president of India Cements Limited.
According to reports appearing in the media, Dhoni has reportedly expressed his disappointment and annoyance over his name being dragged into the Indian premier League (IPL) spot-fixing controversy.
He is said to have had a telephonic conversation on Friday with India Cements boss N.Srinivasan and requested that his resignation from the vice president's post in the company and from the CSK captaincy be accepted.
Sources in Chennai have been quoted by the Times of India, as saying that discussions are still on between Dhoni and Srinivasan over the issue.
Harish Salve, the counsel for Bihar Cricket Association chief Aditya Verma, had on Thursday accused Dhoni of giving false statements to the Justice Mukul Mudgal IPL Probe Committee about the role of Gurunath Meiyappan in Chennai Super Kings.
Dhoni believes that his name being dragged into the controversy has spoilt his image, and that only solution is for him to quit from both posts.
CSK is the most successful IPL team, winning the title twice and featuring in the final on five occasions. It has also won the T20 Champions League. Dhoni has captained the side since its inception in 2008. His quitting could affect CSK's brand image considerably.