In a surprising turn of events, Ruturaj Gaikwad has been named captain of Chennai Super Kings (CSK), replacing the legendary MS Dhoni, ahead of their clash against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 opener. This announcement made by the IPL’s official X account on Thursday. Gaikwad’s appointment as captain was confirmed when he represented CSK in the customary captains’ picture with the IPL trophy before the tournament began. Dhoni, who is rumored to be playing his final season in the cash-rich league, was absent from the photo.
Chennai Super Kings Hands Captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad
CSk said Dhoni decided to hand over the leadership role to the opening batter. “MS Dhoni has handed over Chennai Super Kings’ captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad ahead of the start of IPL 2024,” CSK said in a statement. “Ruturaj has been an integral part of Chennai Super Kings since 2019 and has played 52 matches in IPL during this period. The team looks forward to the upcoming season,” it added.
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Gaikwad has been associate with the Chennai-base franchise since the 2020 season and made his IPL debut in the same year. He has played 52 matches for CSK and smashed 1797 runs including a century and 14 half- centuries.
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In the last edition of the tournament, he accumulated 590 runs in 16 matches at an outstanding average of 42.14. He has played six ODIs and 19 T20Is for India in the recent years. In the leadership role, Gaikwad-led second-string Indian squad won gold in the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou, China.
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On the other hand, Dhoni bids adieu to his captaincy stint with five titles, with the latest coming in 2023. The wic batter is the most successful captain in the tournament’s history with the most wins to his name. In 226 IPL ma Dhoni captained, he won 133 of them and holds a win percentage of 58.84. nat Ask Me On Wednesday, Dhoni’s former teammate Suresh Raina pressed Gaikwad as CSK’s next captain after the veteran’s retirement.