IPL 2024: Ruturaj Gaikwad replaces MS Dhoni as captain of CSK

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have announced Ruturaj Gaikwad as the captain for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Gaikwad replaces the illustrious Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the skipper of the five-time IPL champions.

The 42-year-old Dhoni was CSK’s skipper since the inception of the league. However, this is not the first time Dhoni has relinquished the captain’s role in CSK. In 2022, he stepped down as captain, handing over the reins to Ravindra Jadeja. However, with results not going as expected, Dhoni took over from Jadeja after eight matches and continued to lead till the end of the season. The franchise finished ninth out of 10 teams in the 2022 season.

Dhoni continued to be the skipper in the 2023 season and led the franchise to their fifth IPL title.

However, with age catching up and his prowess diminishing, there was much chatter for the time being ripe for a change in guard in the CSK team.

Gaikwad is no stranger to leadership roles. He has led Maharashtra in the domestic circuit, notably in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy, and has shown glimpses of being an astute captain. The 27-year-old shone to limelight in the 2021 season of the IPL when he amassed 635 runs for CSK and was instrumental in CSK’s title-winning run.

With Dhoni being a constant behind the wickets, Gaikwad will never run short of ideas and motivation when he leads the team out for the first match of the 17th season of the IPL against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on March 22.