Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach Stephen Fleming stunned the cricket world on Thursday, revealing that Ruturaj Gaikwad, the franchise's captain for IPL 2024, has been ruled out of IPL 2025 due to an elbow injury.
Gaikwad’s absence has led to the return of MS Dhoni, who has been reappointed as captain of the team for the remainder of the season.
CSK confirmed the news on social media with a simple, yet impactful post that quickly went viral, garnering over 700,000 views. "CAPTAIN MAHENDRA SINGH DHONI," the post read, signaling the return of the iconic skipper to lead the Yellow Army.
Gaikwad, who took over the CSK captaincy before the start of IPL 2024, led the team during a challenging season in which CSK failed to progress past the league stage.
The team’s hopes were dashed after they lost a crucial final league-stage match to Royal Challengers Bangalore, resulting in their early exit from the tournament.
The IPL 2023 final, in which CSK clinched the title, had marked Dhoni’s last season as captain before stepping down.
With Dhoni at the helm again, CSK will look to turn around their disappointing start to IPL 2025. The team kicked off their campaign with a win against Mumbai Indians but has since struggled, registering just one win from five matches. They currently sit at 9th place in the points table, with their playoff hopes hanging by a thread.
Gaikwad’s tenure as captain has seen mixed results, with the young opener notching up 8 wins and 11 defeats from 19 matches. Despite this, his leadership experience includes captaining India in T20Is.
Dhoni, on the other hand, remains one of the most successful captains in IPL history. With 133 wins from 226 matches, Dhoni is the only captain in the competition's history to surpass the 100-win mark.
His legacy includes leading CSK to five IPL titles, and he will be hoping to add a sixth under his belt as he returns to the leadership role for the upcoming clash against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Friday, April 11.
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