The RCB legend was far from impressed with the decision.
IPL heavyweights Chennai Super Kings (CSK) surprised everyone when they announced Ruturaj Gaikwad as their new leader, replacing MS Dhoni as the captain of the franchise just a day before the start of the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2024).
Gaikwad’s first assignment will be the IPL 2024 opener against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). While it remains to be seen if Gaikwad can deliver results after stepping into Dhoni’s shoes, a former RCB star has given his verdict.
Ahead of the highly-anticipated clash, South African legend and former RCB player AB de Villiers revealed his take on the recent captaincy change. The legendary wicketkeeper-batter was far from impressed with the decision, labelling it as a “huge mistake.”
Speaking on JioCinema, AB de Villiers said, “I think it’s a huge mistake. To me, MS Dhoni is five guys in the team as captain. Will that work together? I am not sure. We will have to wait and see. I do think it’s a mistake. What happened last time is similar. I feel CSK’s all about MS Dhoni’s leadership. And his captaincy will be a mistake.”
Interestingly, Gaikwad shed light on the decision saying that the plans had been in motion since last season and the decision to hand over the captaincy to him was not happenstance. Gaikwad revealed that Dhoni had given him a heads-up during IPL 2023 about the possible change and that it shouldn’t “be a surprise”.
Ruturaj Gaikwad has previous experience of captaincy, having led the Indian team to a gold medal at the 2023 Asian Games.
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