Ruturaj Gaikwad CSK Captain: Even before the start of IPL 2024, there has been a disappointment for the fans of Chennai Super Kings who wanted to see Chennai become champions once again under the captaincy of Dhoni. The first match of IPL 2024 is to be played between Chennai Super Kings and Bangalore ( CSK vs RCB ) and just a day before that, Chennai Super Kings has decided to make Ruturaj Gaikwad the captain in place of Dhoni.
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In a post on X, the Indian Premier League revealed this a day before CSK took on Royal Challengers Bangalore. Soon after releasing a picture of all the captains with the IPL trophy, the IPL posted on X, “Presenting Chennai IPL captain Gaikwad”. Gaikwad has played six ODIs and 19 T20s for India. He made his CSK debut in 2020 and has been a part of the five-time IPL champions CSK team in 52 matches.
The stylish opener had a memorable outing last year, scoring 590 runs in 16 matches at an impressive strike rate of 147.50. “MS Dhoni has handed over the captaincy of Chennai Super Kings to Ruturaj Gaikwad ahead of the start of Tata IPL 2024. Ruturaj has been a part of Chennai Super Kings since 2019 and has played 52 matches in the IPL during this period,” CSK said in a statement on their website. “The team is looking forward to the upcoming season,” the statement said. Dhoni is expected to retire at the end of the season and hence the franchise felt the need for a seamless transition in Dhoni’s presence as a player.
Why did Dhoni leave the captaincy of Chennai
Actually Dhoni has turned 42 and he has been playing cricket for a long time. He retired from international cricket in August 2020. Now he can also retire from IPL. But no official information has come out about this yet. Dhoni can play the last match of his career this season. However, when he was asked about retirement last season, he did not give any indication about retirement. But now he can retire. Social media users believe that this is why he has also handed over the captaincy to Rituraj.
Chennai Super Kings has had a great record under Dhoni’s captaincy. CSK became the finalist in 2008. After this, it won the title in 2010 and 2011. The team also became a finalist in 2012. Chennai had a great record in 2012 and 2013. Chennai played the final match of 2015. But it had to face defeat from Mumbai Indians. After this, it won the title in 2018, 2021 and 2023.
Let us tell you that Dhoni scored 414 runs in his debut IPL season. He scored 2 half-centuries in 16 matches in 2008. He has played 250 matches in the tournament so far. He has scored 5082 runs during this period. Dhoni has scored 24 half-centuries in this tournament. His best score has been 84 not out.
