Ruturaj Gaikwad replaced MS Dhoni as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain a day ahead of the franchise’s first match of IPL 2024, the season opener against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

Defending champion Chennai Super Kings will host Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the tournament opener of IPL 2024. A day ahead of the match, they announced Ruturaj Gaikwad as their new captain for the tournament, bringing MS Dhoni’s 16-year stint at the helm to an end.

“MS Dhoni has handed over Chennai Super Kings’ captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad ahead of the start of TATA IPL 2024,” stated a brief press release from CSK. The IPL social media handles, however, announced the news.

Presenting @ChennaiIPL's Captain – @Ruutu1331 🙌🙌#TATAIPL pic.twitter.com/vt77cWXyBI

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 21, 2024

Gaikwad also featured in the traditional pre-tournament captains’ photo shoot, where Punjab Kings were represented by vice-captain Jitesh Sharma instead of captain Shikhar Dhawan.

𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞!

The #TATAIPL is here and WE are ready to ROCK & ROLL 🎉🥳🥁

Presenting the 9 captains with PBKS being represented by vice-captain Jitesh Sharma. pic.twitter.com/v3fyo95cWI

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 21, 2024

Since being selected by CSK at the 2008 auction, Dhoni continued to lead them until 2023. There was a breaks when the franchise was suspended in 2016 and 2017 – the only time in IPL history when two consecutive finals did not feature the CSK.

Dhoni returned at the helm in 2018. The Super Kings appointed Ravindra Jadeja their captain in 2022, but he stepped down eight matches into the tournament, and Dhoni was reappointed. In 2023, Dhoni equalled Rohit Sharma’s record of five IPL trophy wins as captain. He holds the IPL record for most matches and wins as captain.

Gaikwad debuted for Chennai in 2019, and has since gone from strength to strength, forging much-feared opening stands – first with Faf du Plessis, then with Devon Conway. He won the Orange Cap in 2021, and has already scored the fifth-most runs for CSK in IPL history.

His stint has earned him 25 India caps – six in ODIs and 19 in T20Is. In the latter, he led India to their first gold medal at men’s cricket at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

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