Chennai: Just five days ago, rumour mills were buzzing with speculation about MS Dhoni’s retirement from IPL. The rare presence of his parents at Chennai Super Kings’ home match against Delhi Capitals at the MA Chidambaram Stadium led many to believe that the ageless superstar would finally be bowing out at the age of 43.
That turned out to be a false alarm, as Dhoni clarified later he would continue to play as long as his body permits him to.
Not only is the wicketkeeper-batter still an integral part of CSK’s playing XI, Dhoni is now set to return as captain of the successful IPL franchise.
Coach Stephen Fleming revealed on Thursday that skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad has been out of the remainder of IPL 2025 due to an elbow injury, hence Dhoni will take over captaincy duties.
“He (Gaikwad) 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,” Fleming said in Chennai.
“We’re disappointed and feel for Gaikwad. 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,” Fleming informed.
Chennai have struggled this season, having lost four of their five games so far to languish in ninth place on the standings. Dhoni’s wicketkeeping has been top class, but he has not been able to take the team across the line coming in with more than 10 runs needed per over.
Dhoni’s new stint as CSK captain will begin on Friday with a home game against Kolkata Knight Riders.
Dhoni, who has been a part of CSK from the inception of IPL in 2018 and attained legendary status in among Chennai fans, had relinquished the captaincy in 2022 and nominated Ravindra Jadeja as his successor. But after a string of disappointing results in IPL 2022, Dhoni took back the reins of leadership.
In 2023, the former Team India captain led CSK to their fifth IPL title, before Gaikwad took charge from the 2024 season.
It’s back to square one now, once more.
