CSK issues statement revealing why MS Dhoni was replaced by Ruturaj Gaikwad as captain for IPL 2024

Chennai Super Kings released an official statement moments after the X handle of the Indian Premier League (IPL) revealed Rututraj Gaikwad as the new CSK skipper for IPL 2024. CSK said MS Dhoni, the five-time IPL winning captain (joint most with Rohit Sharma) decided to hand over the CSK captaincy to Ruturaj. The mega announcement comes a day before the IPL 2024 opener between defending champions CSK and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

Ruturaj Gaikwad (left) with MS Dhoni(HT PHOTO)

"Presenting Chennai Super Kings Captain - Ruturaj Gaikwad," the IPL posted on X shortly after releasing a picture of all captains posing with the IPL trophy.

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This will only be the second time when CSK will start an IPL season without Dhoni as their designated skipper. The first time it happened was in IPL 2022 when Ravindra Jadeja was named as the CSK captain but the all-rounder was replaced by Dhoni midway through the season after CSK got off to a disastrous start.

If Ruturaj stays fit and there are no changes in the stance of the CSK management like in the case of Jadeja, this year's IPL will be the second instance of Dhoni playing the entire season only as a player. Previously, he played only as a keeper-batter for Rising Super Giants as Steve Smith was named captain for IPL 2017. Notably, the franchise along with the Gujarat Lions played two seasons of IPL (in 2016 and 2017) when CSK and the Rajasthan Royals were suspended from the league.

Why Ruturaj Gaikwad named as CSK captain replacing Dhoni

CSK described Ruturaj as an "integral part" of the team and wished the young opening batter all the best for the upcoming 17th edition of the world's richest T20 league.

"MS Dhoni has handed over Chennai Super Kings' captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad ahead of the start of TATA IPL 2024. Ruturaj has been an integral part of Chennai Super Kings since 2019 and has played 52 matches in IPL during this period," CSK said in a statement on their website.

"The team looks forward to the upcoming season," the statement added.

Gaikwad, who has played six ODIs and 19 T20s for India, made his CSK debut in 2020 and has gone on to represent the five-time IPL champions in 52 games.

The stylish opener had a memorable run last year, aggregating 590 runs in 16 games at an impressive strike rate of 147.50.

The successor of Dhoni has always been a topic of discussion ever since the legendary cricketer announced his international retirement in August 2020. Dhoni did captain a “dad's army” to the IPL title in 2021 but the talks of a transition were ripe. The Jadeja move did not work and after Dhoni battled through the entire last season, the writing was on the wall. CSK had to make the switch. And no better time to do it than Dhoni still being with the team as a player.

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