Ruturaj takes over the reins from Dhoni
For the second time in three years, defending champion Chennai Super Kings and M.S. Dhoni sprang a surprise on the eve of an IPL campaign by announcing a change of guard with Ruturaj Gaikwad named as the franchise’s captain for this year on Thursday.
In a statement, the team said, “M.S. Dhoni has handed over captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad ahead of the start of TATA IPL 2024.”
Later, head coach Stephen Fleming added, “It was MS’ (call) with a lot of consideration and an eye on the future after a good season last year. The timing was good.”
“Ruturaj and others have been on a captaincy grooming process, looking forward to days like this and the opportunities that come up, but MS is the best judge and he felt the time was right,” said the former New Zealand skipper about the process behind selecting Gaikwad.
Gaikwad, who will be the fourth skipper for Super Kings, was picked in 2019 at his base price of ₹20 lakh and was subsequently retained for ₹6 crore ahead of the 2022 edition. He was the highest rungetter in 2021, scoring 635 runs and in 2023 he made 590 runs, playing a vital role in the team’s triumphs in those years.
In 2022, Ravindra Jadeja was made the captain, but following a poor start in which the team won only two out of the first eight matches, Dhoni was back in the saddle.
When asked if the team has worked to ensure a similar thing doesn’t get repeated, Fleming said, “A couple of years ago, we probably weren’t ready for MS to move aside. So, we have worked to ensure any mistakes that were made aren’t repeated. Plans are in place so that players are more selfsufficient and we are better prepared now because that jolted us into looking at life after (Dhoni).”