MS Dhoni to Captain again for CSK in IPL 2025
MS Dhoni return as captain for CSK in IPL 2025 due to an unfortunate injury to the incumbent captain Rituraj Gaikwad, who has been ruled out of the tournament due to an elbow fracture.
While chasing the target of 183 in the match against Rajasthan Royals on 30th of March, a ball of Tushar Deshpande had hit Rituraj on his elbow but he continued his batting and played a crucial knock of 63 off 44 balls including 7 fours and a six. Though his valiant effort couldn’t ensure a win for CSK, it was a valuable knock from match’s perspective. Rituraj went for the scans after the match. Later, he also played two matches against Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings after that injury but couldn’t manage big scores.
Now after the results of scanning have come which shows fracture in his elbow, Rituraj has been ruled out of the tournament and the seasoned, five times IPL winning captain MS Dhoni has been named as the captain of CSK by the team management for the remainder of the season. Rituraj’s captaincy was already under the radar as CSK have manged just one win out of 5 matches that they have played so far in this season.
🚨 OFFICIAL STATEMENT 🚨
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) April 10, 2025
Ruturaj Gaikwad ruled out of the season due to a hairline fracture of the elbow.
MS DHONI TO LEAD. 🦁
GET WELL SOON, RUTU ! ✨ 💛#WhistlePodu #Yellove🦁💛 pic.twitter.com/U0NsVhKlny
“Unfortunately, Ruturaj Gaikwad is going to be ruled out of the tournament,” Fleming said. “He got hit in Guwahati. He’s been operating with an amount of pain. We got an X-ray, which was inconclusive, and we had an MRI, which revealed a fracture in his elbow, so we’re disappointed and feel for him.
“We appreciate the efforts that he’s gone to in terms of trying to play but unfortunately, he’ll be out of this tournament for now. We have an uncapped player in MS Dhoni who will take over as captain for the remainder of the IPL,” Fleming told in the Press Conference on the eve of their match against KKR.
“He understands that the team is in need at the moment,” Fleming added on Dhoni agreeing to return as captain. “There’s Rutu who didn’t want to go. So, he had no hesitation to step up and help guide us out of this if he can. So, that was never a doubt,” Fleming said.
Asked about potential replacements for Gaikwad, Fleming added: “Replacements, we’ll look at. We’ve got some good players in the squad that have been with us a while, so, we’ll look from within first. But, yeah, there is an opportunity to see how we can enhance the squad probably moving forward into subsequent years.”
In IPL 2022 season too, Dhoni had to take over when Ravindra Jadeja left the captaincy mid season after a terrible run and almost no hope of qualifying for the play-offs. Before IPL 2024, again Dhoni stepped down to groom Rituraj as a captain under his guidance and now he has to take over once again after an unfortunate injury. MS Dhoni has been an exceptional captain not just for India but also for his franchise team CSK for years. Under his leadership, CSK clinched five IPL titles (2010, 2011, 2018, 2021, 2023) and two Champions League T20 trophies. These numbers speaks in itself of his stature as a captain.
This is going to be a big boost for CSK in this campaign where there is still chance for them to qualify for the playoffs. It will be interesting to see if his return as a captain changes fortune for CSK in this season again or not?
You can also read:
Cricket at Olympics 2028; will be played in T20 format confirms IOC