MS Dhoni stepped down as the captain of Chennai Super Kings, thus passing on the baton to Ruturaj Gaikwad.
New Delhi: If Arvind Kejriwal grabbed all the headlines late in the evening, it was Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni who stole the limelight in the afternoon as the 42-year-old stepped down from his position just a night before the IPL 2024 starts. Likely to play his last IPL, Dhoni passed on the baton to 27-year-old Maharashta batter Ruturaj Gaikwad to ensure a smooth transition as far as captaincy is concerned. Defending champions CSK face Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in IPL 2024 opener.
Unlike in 2022, this time, Dhoni made people aware before announcing his decision. The development first came to the fore on Thursday morning when he rang the management to break the development to his teammates and support staff over the breakfast table, according to a report.
Post that, the five-time IPL-winning captain dialed the CSK management to intimate about his decision to hand over the reins to Gaikwad. “He informed us of the decision this morning before the captain’s meeting after talking to the head coach,” CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan told The Indian Express.
“Mr N Srinivasan has given the charge to Dhoni and whatever decision he takes, will always be in the best interest of the franchise. And he has been grooming Gaikwad for the last couple of years on the field as well as outside. Dhoni felt this is the right time to hand over to him as he felt Gaikwad is also ready,” he added.
Based on the same report, Gaikwad knew about the captaincy transition but not so early. He expected to take over the responsibility from IPL 2025 once Dhoni hangs up his boots. However, Dhoni wanted to groom Gaikwad while he is still around as a player.
Gaikwad, a stylish opener, had a memorable run last year, aggregating 590 runs in 16 games at an impressive strike rate of 147.50. His breakout year was 2021 when he amassed 635 runs in 16 games. The 27-year-old from Maharashtra is not new to captaincy, having led the Indian team to the gold medal in the Asian Games last year. He has also led his state side Maharashtra.
The 42-year-old, who played with a dodgy knee last season, underwent a surgery after leading CSK to their fifth title. Dhoni has played as many as 250 IPL matches, scoring more than 5000 runs at a strike rate of 135.92.
Due to his knee issues, Dhoni pushed himself down to number 8 in the batting order last season but after regaining full fitness, he is expected to bat higher up this edition. Former India pacer Irfan Pathan met Dhoni recently and claimed that the latter appears to be in good shape following the knee surgery.
With PTI Inputs