The former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) star has sensationally claimed that Ruturaj Gaikwad will be the puppet captain of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as MS Dhoni will pull all the strings.
On Thursday, March 21, CSK began the second captaincy transition with the appointment of star batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad as captain. In 2022, when CSK tried to make Ravindra Jadeja MS Dhoni’s successor, it failed miserably as the all-rounder couldn’t handle the pressure and the legendary captain had to take back the job.
The five-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions are hoping for a smooth transition this time with Gaikwad at the helm. The CSK opener has a good amount of captaincy experience under his belt as he leads Maharashtra in domestic cricket and also won the Asian Games gold medal as captain of the Indian National Cricket Team.
Despite all the captaincy experience that Gaikwad brings, former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) star Shreevats Goswami is of the opinion that he will not be the one with complete authority as MS Dhoni will call the shots.
“You will miss the post-match summary of @ChennaiIPL games. @msdhoni 🐐 but we all know who will make the decisions. #MSDhoni,” said the former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) player.
“You will miss the post-match summary of @ChennaiIPL games.” @msdhoni 🐐 but we all know who will make the decisions. #MSDhoni
– Shreevats goswami (@shreevats1) March 21, 2024
Dhoni, who is the most successful captain in IPL history, will provide much-needed guidance to Gaikwad in his first season as a full-time captain in the IPL. Furthermore, with the announcement of Gaikwad as the new skipper of the team, it is speculated that Dhoni will officially retire from the IPL once the next season ends.
Ruturaj Gaikwad is lucky to do his captaincy internship under the great leader MS Dhoni – Mohammad Kaif
Former Indian national cricket team batsman Mohammad Kaif also took to his official X account (formerly known as Twitter) to express his views on Dhoni’s resignation as captain.
Kaif said Dhoni knows exactly when to step down from captaincy and termed Gaikwad as a lucky cricketer as he will be able to intern with the legendary skipper in IPL 2024.
“MS Dhoni knows when to step forward and when to step back. Ruturaj Gaikwad is lucky to be doing his internship as a captain under the guidance of the great leader. Thala, the grandmaster of T20 cricket. #Dhoni,” said former Indian national cricket team batsman Mohammad Kaif.
MS Dhoni knows when to step forward and when to step back. Ruturaj Gaikwad is lucky to be doing his internship as a captain under the guidance of the great leader. Thala, the grandmaster of T20 cricket. #Dhoni
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) March 21, 2024
Ruturaj Gaikwad’s first match as full-time captain of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will be against Faf du Plessis-led Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at Chepauk on March 22.
Tamil Nadu’s Baba Indrajith also joined the cricketers to express his emotions over MS Dhoni’s departure from captaincy. Despite being heartbroken over the development, he praised Dhoni as a selfless leader who takes the team forward. He also felt that Dhoni would return as captain for the final home match at Chepauk.
“It’s heartbreaking. But what a captain and what a leader! His decision to hand over the captaincy shows his selflessness and “his” team’s view of him. Gut feeling: Dhoni could be the captain for the last home game in the league stage,” the Tamil Nadu star wrote in X.
It’s heartbreaking 💔 But what a captain and leader! His decision to hand over the captaincy shows his selflessness and the vision of “his” team💛
Intuition: Dhoni could be the captain of the last home match of the league phase 🤔
– Indrajith Baba (@IndrajithBaba) March 21, 2024