MS Dhoni relinquishes CSK captaincy, Ruturaj Gaikwad named new skipper ahead of IPL 2024

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have announced the new skipper for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. MS Dhoni has passed on the baton to young opener Ruturaj Gaikwad, who has been their best batter in the league for the last few years.

This comes as a huge surprise for many as MS Dhoni was expected to captain the team in the IPL 2024. The keeper-batter has been putting in hard yards in the nets in the buildup to the tournament and the development related to the captaincy might have broken many fans too.

With MS Dhoni passing on the baton to Ruturaj Gaikwad, it could well be a hint that the keeper-batter will be playing his last season in the league. The development was confirmed by the Indian Premier League (IPL) as they posted a picture of the new skipper of the team.

Here’s the post:

Presenting @<!---->C<!---->h<!---->e<!---->n<!---->n<!---->a<!---->i<!---->I<!---->P<!---->L's Captain – @<!---->R<!---->u<!---->u<!---->t<!---->u<!---->1<!---->3<!---->3<!---->1 🙌🙌#<!---->T<!---->A<!---->T<!---->A<!---->I<!---->P<!---->L p<!---->i<!---->c<!---->.<!---->t<!---->w<!---->i<!---->t<!---->t<!---->e<!---->r<!---->.<!---->c<!---->o<!---->m<!---->/<!---->v<!---->t<!---->7<!---->7<!---->c<!---->W<!---->X<!---->y<!---->B<!---->I

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) M<!---->a<!---->r<!---->c<!---->h<!----> <!---->2<!---->1<!---->,<!----> <!---->2<!---->0<!---->2<!---->4

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) also released a press statement about the same, claiming that MS Dhoni handed over the captaincy reigns to Ruturaj Gaikwad, who has been an integral part of the team. The franchise stated:

“MS Dhoni has handed over Chennai Super Kings’ captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad ahead of the start of TATA IPL 2024. 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.”

MS Dhoni did something similar in the 2022 season as well. He passed on the captaincy baton to Ravindra Jadeja but the move didn’t work. The all-rounder couldn’t lead the team well and this also hampered his performances. This ultimately led to keeper-batter taking over the leadership back midway.

MS Dhoni then led the team staggering well in the 2023 edition. He ended his captaincy stint with the team on a high. The keeper-batter guided Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to the title win in the tournament, which was their 5th. He made the team joint most successful team in the tournament.

The team management would be hoping that the move to hand over the captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad to pay off. The young opener has a fair amount of captaincy experience as he has been leading his domestic team and has done a decent job. He would want to make an impact right from the start.

It’s fair to say that Ruturaj Gaikwad was the prime candidate to captain Chennai Super Kings after MS Dhoni. The keeper-batter however, made sure that he grooms the young leader under him and helps the youngster flourish to take the team to new heights.

MS Dhoni ends up as the most successful captain in the IPL

MS Dhoni ended his captaincy career in the IPL as the most successful leader in the team. He is the only skipper in the history of the tournament to win more than 100 games. He registered 133 wins as a captain of the team, whereas second best is Rohit Sharma with 87 wins.

This also marks the end of an Era in the IPL as it will be for the first time in the league that none of MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will be captaining their respective franchises. The IPL 2024 gets underway on Friday (22nd March) with the clash between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Chepauk Stadium.