Ruturaj Gaikwad's Replacement- Prithvi Shaw snubbed, CSK set to sign 17-year old

Chennai Super Kings have reportedly decided to sign Mumbai opener Ayush Mhatre as the replacement for their captain Ruturaj Gaikwad for the remainder of the ongoing IPL 2025. The right-handed batsman has been ruled out of the tournament due to an elbow injury.

Ruturaj Gaikwad suffered the injury during CSK's clash with Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati on March 30. He copped a painful blow on his unprotected elbow after stepping out to fast bowler Tushar Deshpande.

MS Dhoni took over captaincy

The CSK captain continued batting even after the blow and scored 63 runs, although he could not power his team to a win.

Ruturaj Gaikwad played two more matches for the five-time champions before being ruled out of the tournament. In his absence, MS Dhoni has been named the stand-in captain.

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Ruturaj Gaikwad's replacement:

With Ruturaj Gaikwad out of the tournament, CSK have zeroed in on Ayush Mhatre as the replacement player, according to a report from Cricbuzz. The news outlet stated that the franchise made the decision late on Saturday (April 13).

CSK have asked 17-year-old Mhatre to join the franchise immediately. Mhatre had registered himself for the last auction at a base price of Rs 30 lakh but failed to attract a single bid. The report stated that CSK had called Mhatre, as well as Urvil Patel of Gujarat, and Salman Nizar of Kerala, for the trial in Chennai.

Out-of-favour India opener Prithvi Shaw was in contention as well. However, the Chennai-based outfit has finally decided to sign up Mhatre.

"He will join the squad in Mumbai in a couple of days," a source close to CSK management told Cricbuzz.

Mhatre made his senior debut for Mumbai in 2024 and has played 9 first-class games and 7 List A games so far. He is yet to play a T20 game at the senior level but is one of the most highly-rated youngsters in Mumbai's cricketing circles.

He has scored 504 runs in 9 first-class games, including two centuries and a fifty. In List A, he has scored 458 runs with the help of two centuries.

Chennai to face Lucknow next

Meanwhile, CSK are currently in Lucknow for their seventh game of the season. They will be locking horns against Lucknow Super Giants at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium on Monday (April 15).

CSK will be desperate to win the game against LSG and revive their campaign. With only one win from 6 games, they are currently languishing at the bottom of the points table. They began their season with a win before losing five games in a row.