Mahendra Singh Dhoni will not be the Chennai Super Kings captain for Indian Premier League 2024. Opening batter Ruturaj Gaikwad has been chosen to lead CSK, the Indian Premier League official social media handle revealed on Thursday (March 21, 2024).
With that, MS Dhoni's long stint as CSK skipper comes to an end. Dhoni was the captain right from the first IPL season in 2008, though he had briefly quit the role in 2022. Ravindra Jadeja was made captain then, but the left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder stepped down after some games and Dhoni returned as the leader.
Dhoni continued as captain in the 2023 season and led CSK to their fifth title, equalling Mumbai Indians' five IPL trophies. The 42-year-old has led the Yellow Army in 212 IPL matches, won 128 and lost 82.
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"Whatever Dhoni does, it is in the best interest of the team. I got to know of the decision just before the captains' meeting. You have to respect his decision, it is his call," CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan told PTI.
His successor Gaikwad has been with CSK since 2019 and has played 52 IPL games during this period. He has played six ODIs and 19 T20Is for India.
Gaikwad, 27, is not new to captaining high-profile teams. The Maharashtra batter led the Indian team to the gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year.
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His ability to soak up pressure will be tested when Chennai Super Kings start their campaign with the IPL 2024 opener against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on March 22.
Squad
Chennai Super Kings squad for IPL 2024: MS Dhoni, Moeen Ali, Deepak Chahar, Devon Conway, Tushar Deshpande, Shivam Dube, Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajay Mandal, Mukesh Choudhary, Matheesha Pathirana, Ajinkya Rahane, Shaik Rasheed, Mitchell Santner, Simarjeet Singh, Nishant Sindhu, Prashant Solanki, Maheesh Theekshana, Rachin Ravindra, Shardul Thakur, Daryl Mitchell, Sameer Rizvi, Mustafizur Rahman, Avanish Rao Aravelly.
