CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan burns Mumbai Indians on captaincy transition in IPL 2024

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) CEO Kasi Viswanathan took an indirect dig at the Mumbai Indians (MI) over their handling of the captaincy switch in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Kasi Viswanathan highlighted Ruturaj Gaikwad's seamless transition as the captain of the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2024.

The 2024 IPL season witnessed leadership changes in two of the most successful IPL franchises. CSK announced MS Dhoni's captaincy handover to Ruturaj Gaikwad before their IPL opener. Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya replaced Rohit Sharma as the new skipper of the Mumbai Indians in December last year.

Mumbai fans criticized the decision to appoint Hardik as MI's captain. Hardik was booed by fans, including at the Wankhede Stadium, in early matches of the IPL 2024. The controversy had an impact on MI's performance, as they finished at the bottom of the points table with only four wins in 14 matches.

In contrast, Gaikwad was warmly welcomed in his new role as captain in Chennai. CSK narrowly missed the playoffs due to a low net run rate. They won seven matches and lost the same number in the T20 tournament. However, they faced challenges in away games, winning only two out of seven matches.

They Had Plans To Make Him As A Future Captain - Kasi Viswanathan

Kasi Viswanathan opened up about the team's captaincy switch and Ruturaj Gaikwad's smooth transition. Viswanathan highlighted Gaikwad's performances and approach, expressing confidence in his leadership abilities.

“The discussions we had with the team management from before a couple of years when Ruturaj came into the CSK and started performing well, we felt that he will be a good choice to captain the side. Both Flem (Fleming) and MS (Dhoni) had long discussions with him, they had plans to make him as a future captain,” Viswanathan told CSK in a YouTube video.

“His performances and also the way he approached the game, and his thoughts whenever he spoke with MS as well as Fleming… both of them felt that he'll be a good captain at CSK. And we were not disappointed. He led the side comfortably. The seniors also helped him. It has not affected his performance with the bat. He has continued to be a very consistent performer," he added.

Pressure Of Captaincy Has Not Affected Him - Kasi Viswanathan

Kasi Viswanathan acknowledged the high expectations placed on Ruturaj Gaikwad, following in the footsteps of MS Dhoni. However, Viswanathan stated that MS had confidence in Gaikwad to do a very good job.

“The pressure of captaincy has not affected him. We look forward to his contribution to CSK in the future. The pressure is too high because he's following the footsteps of MS Dhoni. Nobody can match him, but MS had the confidence that Rutu (Gaikwad) has it in him to do a very good job," Viswanathan further stated.

The CSK skipper is the second-leading run-getter in the ongoing edition. Gaikwad scored 583 runs in 14 games at an average of 53 and a strike rate of 141.16. He is behind Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) Virat Kohli, who amassed 741 runs in 15 innings at an average of 61.75 and a strike rate of 154.69.

Also read: Aakash Chopra slams Glenn Maxwell for lackluster performance in IPL 2024