File picture of Chennai Super Kings batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad, who takes over as captain of the side
| Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy
Chennai Super Kings has named Ruturaj Gaikwad as the new captain of the franchise ahead of the start of the 2024 IPL season.
He takes over from M.S. Dhoni, who has captained the team since the start of the IPL in 2008, save for a brief period when Ravindra Jadeja was made captain.
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A brief statement by the team confirmed the shift in captaincy, stating that 27-year-old Gaikwad has been an integral part of the team since 2019, playing 52 matches.
Speculation is rife that this season will be Dhoniβs final one as a player. In the 2023 season, the 42-year-old mostly came out to bat towards the fag end of CSK innings.
CSK began their pre-season training camp on March 2 with the first batch of CSK players landing a day before.
Run machine
Gaikwad made his IPL debut in 2020, playing six games. In 2021, he scored a whopping 635 runs for the team. He secured his place as an opener and has amassed 1,797 at an average of 39.07.
Ahead of the 2022 IPL, CSK retained him for βΉ6 crore. Gaikwad also has 17 T20I appearances for the Indian national team and has played in four ODIs.