MS Dhoni step down as captain, Ruturaj Gaikwad to lead Chennai Super Kings (CSK)
Ruturaj Gaikwad is announced as new skipper of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on 21st March by franchise Management. MS Dhoni stepped down from the CSK captaincy. Most interesting is announcement of new skipper is made by Board of Control for cricket in India (BCCI) just before the match. Gaikwad to represent CSK at the IPL conclave in Chennai on Thursday. This is made before official confirmation from CSK franchise.
“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.”
This is sudden and unexpected change made at the very last day, but this is given by Dhoni’s way. On March 4 Dhoni posted a cryptic post on the social media saying, “Can’t wait for the new season and the new ‘role’. Stay tuned!” The real context and meaning of the post were revealed after 2 weeks.
Just before captain conclave Franchise management was announced Skipper name which on Thursday Morning only. “It was a decision between MS and Flem (coach Stephen Fleming). We the management of the franchise always leave the cricketing matters to the team management, and they let us know about the captaincy change this morning. We went by their decision,” Kasi Viswanathan, the CEO of the CSK, told Cricbuzz.
It is obvious that Ruturaj Gaikwad was made aware about this decision some time back, but Vishwanathan would want to keep it secret. Even franchise owner N Srinivasan was not aware about this till yesterday.
Know Ruturaj Gaikwad and his stats.
Is this end of MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma cricket era?
There are many rumours about MS Dhoni participation of in IPL 2024 previously. But his fitness level is on next level at this age. Now Dhoni turned 42, despite the fact is he looking fitter than ever. Everyone must hang up their boots at some point. There are already renewed rumours that this may be Dhoni’s final IPL season.
Conclusion
Though Ruturaj Gaikwad is appointed as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) but still there is question of long-term captain. May be next year CSK will appoint new captain during IPL 2025 Mega Auction. Vishwanathan said, “We cannot say about the future.” He, however, has confirmed that Dhoni will play this season entirely.
