MS Dhoni
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) young skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad talked about taking the captaincy baton from the legendary MS Dhoni. He said it was great to be trusted by MS Dhoni for the leadership role ahead of the latest season of IPL.
The Chennai franchise announced that Gaikwad will be leading the team in the 17th edition of IPL just ahead of the season opener against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Chepauk Stadium. This marked the end of Dhoni’s long reign as the CSK skipper.
He led Chennai to five IPL crowns in his tenure. Talking about having MS Dhoni on the field, Gaikwad said that it’s a “great backbone” to have the former CSK skipper with him. The 27-year-old added that he will not be changing anything in the team.
“It’s great to be trusted by MS Dhoni for the leadership role. Right from day one, I like how this franchise runs. I got to know what is the success mantra. Also, I don’t like to change a single bit of it – for me, it’s a great backbone to have MS Dhoni on the field. I also have Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja) Bhai & Ajju (Ajinkya Rahane) Bhai in the team.
So definitely a lot of options to look around. I don’t think that I need to change anything, just give the freedom that the players want. I think everything will be fine,” Gaikwad explained. He also revealed that Dhoni hinted to him about captaincy during the IPL 2023 season.
“You know last year itself Mahi bhai just hinted about captaincy at some point. Just hinted that he wanted me to be ready and it should not come as a surprise to me. When we came into the camp, he made me involved in some of the practice matches and relations,” he added.
