Ruturaj Gaikwad will be the captain of the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2024, after legendary MS Dhoni. The announcement was released the night before the opening match of the competition, which is scheduled to take place at the Chepauk on Friday and feature the reigning champions CSK taking on Royal Challengers Bangalore.
This is the second time Dhoni has given up captaincy – he did so in 2022, giving over the position to Ravindra Jadeja but reclaimed it following CSK’s terrible start – and if he and the management do not make another U-turn, it would be the end of his legendary era as captain.
MS Dhoni, who announced his retirement from international cricket in August 2022 but continues to play in the IPL, is the only skipper from the 2008 batch who has remained captain even after all these years.
In a statement, CSK said, “MS Dhoni has handed over Chennai Super Kings’ captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad ahead of the start of IPL 2024. Ruturaj Gaikwad 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.”
Dhoni led CSK to five IPL victories – 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021 and 2023 – as well as two now-defunct Champions League titles. Since the playoff system was introduced in the IPL in 2011, CSK has made it to the finals five years in a row, led by Dhoni.
