Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s intelligent recruitment policy of roping in international captains who can contribute strategically is one of the biggest reasons for Chennai Super Kings' stupendous success in the IPL, feels former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis.

CSK have been a part of 10 out of 12 seasons of IPL and have never finished lower than semi-finals or play-offs.

“A great thing that CSK have done over the years, and that’s credit to MS and (Stephen) Fleming the coach, is they have targeted captains --- (Brendon) McCullum, myself, (Dwayne) Bravo, (Suresh) Raina’s also captained a bit --- because they want thinking cricketers,” the 35-year -old told CSK’s website.

“So, there’s a lot of leaders within the group, that experience of thinking cricketers is what they want and obviously it has proven to be very successful,” he added.

“CSK is a great franchise to be a part of. MS has got such strong leadership. He leaves a massive hole when he’s not on the field,” the former South Africa skipper waxed eloquent about Dhoni.

CSK have qualified for the Play-offs in all their 10 seasons and won the title thrice.