Ruturaj Gaikwad, captain of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), has been ruled out of the Indian Premier League 2025 (IPL 2025) due to a hairline fracture in his elbow. MS Dhoni is expected to captain CSK for the remainder of the season, according to head coach Stephen Fleming, ahead of their next match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Friday, April 11.
The franchise alerted its supporters of the leadership change with a message on their X account wishing Gaikwad a speedy recovery. He was hit on the right forearm during their defeat to the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Guwahati.
“Ruturaj Gaikwad ruled out of the season due to a hairline fracture of the elbow. MS DHONI TO LEAD. GET WELL SOON, RUTU !,” posted CSK on their X account.
CSK head coach Stephen Fleming revealed that an MRI scan revealed the extent of Ruturaj Gaikwad’s injury and announced MS Dhoni as the captain for the rest of the season in the pre-match press conference ahead of their next match against KKR.
“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, in the radial neck,” said Fleming.
“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’d be out of the tournament from now. We have an uncapped player, MS Dhoni, who will take over as captain for the remainder of the IPL,” he added.
Can the Dhoni factor influence CSK’s fortunes?
CSK’s leadership change comes at a critical time, as they have lost four consecutive matches. Dhoni will return as CSK captain for the first time since the IPL 2023 final, when they defeated Gujarat Titans (GT) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad to win their record-tying fifth trophy. Before the 2024 season, he stepped down as captain and passed over control to Gaikwad.
The 27-year-old had a forgettable start to his captaincy as CSK failed to qualify for the playoffs after losing their last league match against RCB.
Hence, Dhoni will have a tough challenge to restart CSK’s season. The famous wicketkeeper-batsman has the necessary expertise to achieve the required goal, having led his sides to 133 triumphs out of 226 IPL matches. He also holds the joint-most titles (five) as captain in the tournament’s history, together with Rohit Sharma, who has guided the Mumbai Indians (MI) to five trophies.
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