MS Dhoni has been the captain of CSK throughout his stay in the IPL, except for a brief period in 2022 when Ravindra Jadeja took over.
ESPNcricinfo Staff
Ruturaj Gaikwad was unveiled as the new captain of Chennai Super Kings a day before the opening match of IPL 2024, where defending champions CSK will take on visiting Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Chepauk. This ends MS DhoniCSK’s long tenure as Captain – which began in the first season of the tournament in 2008 – although he also left the position in 2022, when Ravindra Jadeja was named captain. But Jadeja resigned after eight matches and Dhoni took over the reins, continuing in 2023 when CSK won the trophy for the fifth time and tied Mumbai Indians at the top of the title table.
This triumph was widely expected to be Dhoni’s farewell to the IPL – he had retired from international cricket after the 2019 World Cup – but it sworn to return for at least one more season if his body allows it. Troubled by knee problem throughout 2023 season, Dhoni Enduring a surgical procedure days after the final. The 42 year old man joined CSK pre-season camp in Chennai earlier this month.
In total, Dhoni has captained CSK in 235 of their 249 matches in all competitions, leading them to two titles in the defunct Champions League T20 to go along with the five IPL titles, in 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021 and 2023. Such was the consistency of CSK. under Dhoni’s leadership, the team has finished outside the top four in just two seasons – 2020 and 2022 – while also reaching the final 10 times, including four consecutive years, from 2010 to 2013.
He also captained Rising Pune Supergiant for 14 matches during CSK’s two-year ban from the IPL in 2016 and 2017. In total, he led teams in 226 IPL matches, putting him far ahead of Rohit Sharma (158) in the captain rankings.
The size of the shoes Gaikwad steps into can be gauged by Dhoni’s win-loss ratio of 1,461 in the IPL, a figure bettered only by Hardik Pandya (2,444) and Steven Smith (1,470) among captains who have led teams in 20 or more matches. .
Gaikwad, 27, is expected to succeed Dhoni since he completed the IPL 2021 season – his second in the competition – with a total of 635 chart-topping races. The Maharashtra slugger has since become one of CSK’s most consistent performers, and his runs-scoring exploits in the IPL have earned him a place on the immediate periphery of India’s first-choice white-ball teams. He has played 6 ODIs and 19 T20Is so far.
With 1,797 runs in 52 matches at an average of 39.06 and a strike rate of 135.52, Gaikwad is currently the seventh highest run-getter for CSK. One of the first issues he is expected to resolve as captain is deciding who he will open with, with regular partner Devon Conway ruled out until May with a thumb injury.
Gaikwad has only just recovered from a finger injury and has played just one competitive match in 2024: a Ranji Trophy match. against the serviceswhere he top-scored with 96 in Maharashtra’s first innings.