IPL 2024: Ahead of the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) season 2024, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Thursday removed veteran cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni and appointed Ruturaj Gaikwad as the team captain.
The two most successful captains in IPL history will not lead their teams this season. Watch Rohit Sharma's Instagram story as MS Dhoni leaves CSK captaincy for Ruturaj Gaikwad.
He is one of the legendary captains of India. His leadership records in IPL are unmatched. Incidentally, both of them will be seen without a captain in IPL 2024. Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni will continue to be a part of their prestigious franchises Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) respectively this year, albeit only as players.
Thala MS Dhoni hands over captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad. #WhistlePodu #Yellove #IPL2024 pic.twitter.com/ZbuKGi01UG
— Chennai Super Kings Fans (@CskIPLTeam) March 21, 2024
Last night, when CSK confirmed that Dhoni had handed over the captaincy to young Ruturaj Gaikwad, it was an emotional moment for all Mahi fans. It seems as if Rohit is also one of them.
“MS Dhoni has handed over the captaincy of Chennai Super Kings to Ruturaj Gaikwad before the start of Tata IPL 2024,” CSK said. Ruturaj has been an integral part of Chennai Super Kings since 2019 and has played 52 matches in the IPL during this period. " a statement on its website.
"The team is very much looking forward to the upcoming season," the statement said.
Gaikwad will start the Indian Premier League 2024 season as captain, confirmed IPL through a tweet via social media platform X.
OFFICIAL STATEMENT: MS Dhoni hands over captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad. #WhistlePodu #Yellove
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) March 21, 2024
Gaikwad has an excellent track record in IPL. He made his debut with CSK in 2020 and represented the five-time IPL champions in 52 games. In 2023, Gaikwad scored 590 runs in 16 matches at an excellent strike rate of 147.50. Apart from this, Gaekwad also played six ODIs and 19 T20s for India.
The defending champions of the 2023 IPL are all set to take on Faf du Plessis-led Royal Challengers Bangalore at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Friday.
Under the leadership of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Chennai Super Kings won the IPL trophy five times, a record held only by Mumbai Indians until 2023. MS Dhoni-led CSK won the IPL title in 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021 and 2023. Lead CSK to two CLT20 titles in 2010 and 2014.
Furthermore, MS Dhoni is considered to be the most successful captain of Indian cricket till date. Under his leadership, India won the ICC T20 World Cup 2007, the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, and the ICC Champions Trophy 2013.
The former Mumbai captain shared a picture on his Instagram story. In the photo, Dhoni and Rohit are captured shaking hands and their hands are extended forward. Along with this he also added a handshake emoji. These two can shake hands many times again, but it seems that now they will not do so as captains.
Instagram story of Rohit Sharma for MS Dhoni. 👏 pic.twitter.com/93ZiR7Fj7I
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) March 21, 2024
Dhoni and Rohit shared 10 of the last 16 IPL trophies. Their IPL rivalry is unique. Under his captaincy, some of the most prestigious matches of the IPL have been played between Mumbai and Chennai.
Rohit Sharma had earlier lost the captaincy of MI to Hardik Pandya, due to which most of his fans were not happy. Mumbai imported Pandya from Gujarat Titans (GT) and offered him a leadership position.
Mumbai's most successful captain Rohit Sharma lost his job overnight. Rohit's wife Ritika had earlier said that there were "a lot of things wrong" in the arguments MI was presenting to defend its decision.
CSK without Dhoni's captaincy
However, this is not the first time that CSK has been led by someone other than MSD. Ravindra Jadeja captained the Yellow Army in eight matches, winning two and losing six. He gave up the captaincy to Dhoni in the middle of the competition. One match ended in a tie. Suresh Raina was the captain in six matches, out of which he won two and lost three. One match ended in a tie.
Raina had earlier picked Gaikwad as a "good choice" for captaincy after Dhoni.
"The main question is, who will be their future captain? Even if Dhoni steps down as captain, he will remain in the dugout as a mental strength coach or simply to be present. But who does MS Dhoni have his eye on? "I believe Ruturaj Gaikwad will be a good option," the former CSK star remarked on JioCinema.
CSK squad for IPL 2024:
MS Dhoni, Moeen Ali, Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Shivam Dube, Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajay Mandal, Mukesh Choudhary, 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.
