Ruturaj Gaikwad has been unveiled as the new captain of Chennai Super Kings a day before the opening game of IPL 2024, where defending champions CSK take on the visiting Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Chepauk. This brings to an end MS Dhoni’s long stint as captain of CSK. The size of the shoes Ruturaj Gaikwad steps into can be gauged by Dhoni’s win-loss ratio of 1.461 in the IPL, a figure bettered only by Hardik Pandya (2.444) and Steven Smith (1.470) among captains who have led teams in 20 or more matches.
In all, Dhoni captained CSK in 235 of their 249 games in all competitions, leading them to two titles in the defunct Champions League T20 to go with the five IPL titles, in 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021 and 2023. Such was CSK’s consistency under Dhoni’s leadership, that the team finished outside the top four in just two seasons – 2020 and 2022 – while also reaching the final 10 times, including four consecutive years, from 2010 to 2013.
He also captained Rising Pune Supergiant for 14 games during CSK’s two-year ban from the IPL in 2016 and 2017. In all, he led teams in 226 IPL games, which puts him far ahead of Rohit Sharma (158) on the captaincy leaderboard.
Ruturaj Gaikwad’s impressive record as captain
The 27-year-old Ruturaj Gaikwad has been tipped to take over from Dhoni ever since he finished the 2021 IPL season – his second in the competition – with a chart-topping 635 runs. The Maharashtra batter Ruturaj Gaikwad has since grown into one of CSK’s most consistent performers, and his run-scoring feats in the IPL have earned him a place on the immediate periphery of India’s first-choice white-ball squads. Ruturaj Gaikwad has played 6 ODIs and 19 T20Is so far.
With 1797 runs from 52 matches at an average of 39.06 and a strike rate of 135.52, Ruturaj Gaikwad is currently CSK’s seventh-highest run-getter. Among the first issues Ruturaj Gaikwad is expected to handle as captain is deciding who he will open alongside, with his regular partner Devon Conway ruled out until May with a thumb injury.
Ruturaj Gaikwad has himself only just recovered from a finger injury, and has only played one competitive game in 2024 – a Ranji Trophy match against Services, where he top-scored with 96 in Maharashtra’s first innings. Ruturaj Gaikwad has experience of captaincy in T20 cricket, most notably guiding India to the Gold Medal in last year’s Asian Games. Ruturaj Gaikwad has captained 16 times in all T20 cricket, winning 10 and losing 5 with 1 No Result.
It’s a privilege to captain CSK- Ruturaj Gaikwad
Chennai Super Kings newly appointed captain Ruturaj Gaikwad recently said that he is quite relaxed ahead of his captaincy debut in IPL 2024. The right handed batter added that the captainship responsibility is a huge responsibility but he is equally excited to handle it in the upcoming season.
The 42-year-old Dhoni, who played with a dodgy knee last season, underwent surgery after leading CSK to their fifth title. Dhoni has played as many as 250 IPL matches, scoring more than 5000 runs at a strike rate of 135.92. Due to his knee issues, Dhoni pushed himself down to number 8 in the batting order last season but after regaining full fitness, he is expected to bat higher up this edition having handed the captainship reign to Ruturaj Gaikwad.
In the video shared by Super King’s official social media handle , Ruturaj Gaikwad said that he has plenty of experience in the team to turn to and hence is not worried about his captainship stint.
“It feels good. It’s a privilege obviously. More than that, it’s a huge responsibility but I’m really excited because of the kind of group we have. Everyone’s experienced enough, so not much to do for me. Plus, I have Mahi (Dhoni) bhai in the team, Jaddu (Jadeja) bhai as well, Ajju (Rahane) bhai as well, who’s been a great captain, to guide me. Nothing much to worry, just looking forward to enjoy it,” Gaikwad said.
Ruturaj Gaikwad has captained Maharashtra in domestic cricket
The right hander Ruturaj Gaikwad has some captaincy experience , having led Maharashtra in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Vijay Hazare trophy. Maharashtra ended up as the runners-up in the 2022-23 season of the Vijay Hazare Trophy , losing to Saurashtra in the finals.
The 2021-22 season saw Ruturaj Gaikwad muster a record-equalling four centuries. Despite only playing five matches, Ruturaj Gaikwad scored 603 runs with an astonishing average of 150.75 and striking at 112.92. Gaikwad, a stylish opener, had a memorable run last year, aggregating 590 runs in 16 games at an impressive strike rate of 147.50. His breakout year was 2021 when he amassed 635 runs in 16 games. The 27-year-old from Maharashtra is not new to captaincy, having led the Indian team to the gold medal in the Asian Games last year.
Ruturaj Gaikwad took part in the pre-captains photoshoot and met other teams’ skippers’ too and it will also be the first time Pune-based youngster will be the captain in the tournament.