Owing to Ruturaj Gaikwad’s elbow issue, MS Dhoni will lead the Chennai Super Kings for the rest of the 2025 Indian Premier League. After losing four of their first five matches, CSK currently sits at the bottom of the table in tenth place. Gaikwad has been ruled out of IPL 2025 due to an elbow fracture, so MS Dhoni will take over the captaincy for the remaining fixtures. The update was shared by head coach Stephen Fleming on Thursday, April 10 ahead of the team’s home clash against the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Gaikwad was hit on the elbow by Tushar Deshpande during CSK’s clash with the Rajasthan Royals on March 30. Despite featuring in the next two encounters against the Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals subsequent scans have confirmed a fracture. The five-time champions, who have lost four of their first five games this season, now face a significant setback as they’ll be without their skipper and key batter in an already underperforming top order. Interestingly, Gaikwad has been CSK’s leading run-getter in three of the last four seasons.
“Gaikwad got hit in Guwahati. He has 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 so we are disappointed and feel for him. We appreciate the efforts that he’s gone to in terms of trying to play but unfortunately, he would 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.” Flamming said in the press conference.
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“Dhoni didn’t hesitate to step up and help steer us through this situation if possible. That was never in question. We’ll consider replacement options. We have some talented players in the squad who’ve been with us for some time, so we’ll look internally first. But yes, there’s also a chance to explore how we can strengthen the squad moving forward into future seasons,” Fleming said.
In 2022, Dhoni temporarily handed over the captaincy to Ravindra Jadeja before reclaiming the role midway through a chaotic season. Ahead of the 2024 campaign, Dhoni once again stepped down, but he’s now back at the helm, tasked with reviving CSK’s faltering run.
Under his leadership, CSK has enjoyed unmatched success and stability with Dhoni captaining the side in 235 of their 249 matches. During his tenure clinched five IPL titles (2010, 2011, 2018, 2021, 2023) and two Champions League T20 trophies. Remarkably, the team reached the final ten times including four straight appearances from 2010 to 2013 and has only finished outside the top four twice in 2020 and 2022.
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