The Gaikwad-led CSK won their first match of the IPL 2025 against Mumbai Indians.
In a conversation with Jio Hotstar, Former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni cleared the air around Ruturaj Gaikwad’s role as a captain in the team. Dhoni had previously told Gaikwad that it’s not mandatory to obey his “advice” during the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches, as he handed him over the captaincy in 2024. However, many suspected that Gaikwad was only a paper captain while Dhoni made all the decisions.
“Before the start of the tournament, I also told him, ‘If I give you advice, it doesn’t mean you have to follow it. I will try to stay away as much as possible.’ During the season, a lot of people speculated that I was making the decisions in the background”, he said.
Dhoni dismissed speculations, stating that Gaikwad made the majority of the on-field decisions. He also applauded the new captain for managing the players well.
“But the fact is, he was making 99 per cent of the decisions. The most important calls, bowling changes, field placements, were all his. I was just helping him out. He did a brilliant job of handling the players”, he revealed.
Ruturaj Gaikwad started his second IPL season as the CSK captain with a blistering 26-ball-53 show with the willow. This fiery knock included six boundaries and three over-boundaries at an astonishing strike rate of 203.84.
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The legendary wicketkeeper-batter also revealed the reason behind choosing Gaikwad as the franchise’s skipper. He acknowledged Gaikwad as a “calm” and “composed” player with a “good temperament” and stated that these were the qualities that equipped him to be his successor.
“Ruturaj has been part of us for quite some time. His temperament is very good, he’s very calm, very composed. So those were the reasons we considered him for leadership”, explained Dhoni.
The Men in Yellow kickstarted their IPL 2025 campaign on a high as they defeated their arch-rivals Mumbai by four wickets. They will lock horns with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Chepauk on March 28.
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